


Dark Light

by DeodorantDodo



Category: Dead by Daylight (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Eventual Smut, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Hand Jobs, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, M/M, My First Fanfic, Slow Build, dwake - Freeform, pls be nice, we need more dwake around these parts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-13
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2020-08-20 20:24:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20233837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeodorantDodo/pseuds/DeodorantDodo
Summary: Four very different people have found themselves trapped together in a hellish realm of torture and pain. Working together in search for an escape is difficult, and they're beginning to lose hope. Dwight Fairfield is feeling more lonely than ever, but love and comfort can be found even in the darkest of places...





	1. Dwight Fairfield

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! This is my first ever fanfic, and also my first ever story that I write completely in English. As English isn't my first language, I hope y'all will bear with me and excuse any poor grammar :') This story was born out of the need (read: MY NEED) for more Dwake stuff, so yeah. Have at it! I hope my silly story can make someone's little Dwake heart flutter <3 
> 
> This story centers around the 4 original survivors and 3 original killers, and they haven't been trapped in the Entity's realm for that long.

"Do you think we'll ever get out of here?"

Meg looked over at Claudette, who sat quietly for a few seconds without giving any indication that she had even heard the question.

"I stopped asking myself that question a while ago, makes things a bit easier to endure", she replied without her tired gaze leaving the heart of the fire.

Meg sighed and rested her forehead in her palms.

"What I wouldn't give to be home on the running tracks again..." she murmured.

Dwight sat on the log opposite of the two girls and listened to their conversation. The campfire, cackling loudly between them, warmed his cold body a bit and he tried to settle in more comfortably on the hard log. You could never get comfortable in this place however. Not even the most pleasant campfire could bring back warmth into your shivering body, no amount of hours spent resting and sleeping could make you feel less tired and stressed out. Dwight was no stranger to minimum sleep though, he worked a full time job and tried to do home studies by the side. Or, at least he used to, before he got lost here. He was no stranger to copious amounts of stress and anxiety either. And yet he felt this place gnawing away on him for every night that passed by. The endless torture and agony might have a part in the problem too, though. Dwight had endured the most gruesome pain and suffering in this place, and it never seemed to end. Every night they went to sleep at the campfire, waking up in a fresh new hell. And there was always a new horror, a new monster, awaiting them there, wanting to murder them and make them suffer along the way. He threw a glance over at Meg, still resting her head in her palms. She looked very tired, Claudette as well. Dwight felt his body scream for rest, but he didn't want to go to sleep. He didn't want to allow a new hell to surround him, the campfire was the calmest place here and he wanted to enjoy every last minute of it's warmth. 

"I think I'm gonna go to-" Claudette started, but was interrupted by Jake, the wood dweller.

"I've thought about a few things lately", he said as he entered the dimmed light from the campfire and sat down on a log by himself.

Dwight observed Jake quietly. He was the loner in the "gang", always heading out into the woods when the others rested at the campfire. He seldom joined them, tonight seemed to be an exception. He was usually a man of few words, so to see him initiate a conversation with the others was kind of interesting.

"We know the generators seem to power the gates, right?" Jake said while the group listened quietly. "But they have to power something more. If you think about it, we've encountered dozens of them so far, all that power have to go somewhere else too."

"There's two gates", Meg inflicted with one raised eyebrow. "Two gates oughta use all that power, don't ya think?"

"There's also that hatch that we've seen a few times", Claudette filled in.

Jake grunted in disbelief.

"The hatch doesn't use power, it's just a simple hatch that we can open by ourselves", he said and Claudette turned down her gaze towards the ground, shrugging indifferently. "No, I'm pretty confident that all that power goes somewhere else too. It could be a cottage, a station, a radio tower. I've studied the generator wires, they don't all seem to go towards the gates from what I've seen. There has to be something else out here somewhere, something we're missing."

The group stayed quiet and Jake arose from the log.

"When we wake up, I'm gonna take my toolbox and see what I can find outside of the areas we've looked at."

Then he left the campfire and soon disappeared behind the dark, tall trees. His toolbox, Dwight thought with a small sigh. Jake was the engineer of them, he actually was the "jack of all traits" kind of guy. Claudette was the one who was good at patching everyone up during and after a round in hell, Dwight guessed she was some sort of medical student or something. Meg was the most energetic of them all, she somehow always seemed to find some adrenaline to keep her going even when she had to carry someone wounded with her. Dwight, on the other hand, had no skills whatsoever. He contributed with basically nothing in this group, save for being able to hide pretty well when needed. He was bad at sprinting, bad at working on the generators and he often got caught by the horrendous beasts that lived in the area. He knew that the rest of the group didn't think much of him, and rightfully so. They probably would have made it out of this hell hole already if it wasn't for him holding them back. Sure, it pained Dwight to know this, but it's not like it was a new discovery for him. All his life he'd seemed to be the one who couldn't contribute with anything in groups. He was the awkward, shy guy whom no one really had any patience with and didn't bother spending time around or with. If he'd ever come close to some sort of friendship with anyone, he'd usually fucked it up pretty early on by simply being his pathetic self. No one wants to be around a loser, that's just a fact. 

"Right, well I'm going to sleep now", Claudette said and got up from her log.

"Good night", she said and just as Dwight looked up at her she gave him a small wave.

Dwight was quiet and just stared blankly at her for a few seconds before he blinked a few times and cleared his throat.

"Uhm... T-thanks, you too..." he murmured and tried to smile at her, but it ended up being an awkward, sort of forced face.

"Yeah, I'm gonna hit the sack too", Meg said and got up from her log. "G'night, Claud."

They got their moldy, old blankets and sleeping bags and crawled into their tent. The tents and sleeping equipment they'd found by sheer luck, it must have been left behind by some campers sometime long ago. They had only found two tents however, so Claudette and Meg had decided to share one whilst Dwight got the second one entirely for himself. Jake always brought his sleeping equipment a bit outside of the camp to sleep alone. Dwight didn't mind, it was nice to sleep alone in the tent but at the same time it felt weird and he felt guilty for having the whole tent for himself while Claudette and Meg shared one. After the other two had settled into their tents and gone to sleep, Dwight still sat at the fire, staring into the sparking flames. He wondered where they would wake up next. Would it be the terrifying coal mines? Or the big, empty storehouse that seemed to almost groan in pain whenever someone set foot in it? Dwight still got shivers down his spine when he remembered the house they'd found not too long ago. A big, collapsed building that reeked of decay and something foul that he couldn't put his finger on. They'd searched the place, hoping to find someone there, but all they'd found was old, rotten furniture and some pictures. Pictures of a family, a happy, smiling family. That house most certainly had been a home at some point, now it had bloodstain on the walls and rats living in the floors. Every place they found was even more terrifying than the last, and all of them seemingly having one thing in common so far: the presence of death lingering in the air, so heavy you could almost touch it. Whenever they awoke in a new hell, Dwight located the best hiding places almost immediately while the others went exploring. He didn't care too much for the history of the places they found, he already knew that terror was certain at every place they woke up in. The monsters were always there, they always found them eventually. So far they'd encountered an enormous, grisly being with a grinning face and a meat cleaver. The other one was a horrendous looking one, wielding a chainsaw that cut through bones in a painfully slow manner. They prayed there weren't other monsters, these were far more than enough. Once Dwight had tried to stay awake for as long as possible, as to not fall asleep and wake up in the torture. He had eventually fallen asleep, and his mission had failed. Now he sat at the campfire, wiping his tired eyes behind the thick glasses. Knowing that sleep abstinence was a given non-success, he still wanted to keep his mind occupied for a while longer before giving in to rest. His eyes then fell on the strange book they had found a couple of days ago. It's bright red cover seemed to glow in the light of the campfire, even though it was laying in the moss a few meters into the woods. Meg had angrily tossed it a there the last time they'd opened it, frustrated that it's content didn't provide them with the answers they sought for. Dwight got up from the log and picked the book up from the moss. He sat back down again and mindlessly started looking through the pages as he'd done so many times before. No new answers laid hidden there. This seemed to be a journal, belonging to someone named Benedict Baker. It contained a few diary entries, the next seemingly even more cryptic than the one before. This Baker person had also put in a few of their observations of the monsters and the area in general.

"The killers are needed to feed the Entity with the hope that keeps it alive. I am a pawn in this parasitic charade..."

That, Dwight could agree with as he traced his finger along the sentence that ended one of the entries. Baker called this great evil "The Entity", and they had all adapted that name for it as it seemed fitting. The Entity was the suffering in this place, the painful death that eventually grabbed a hold of you when you couldn't fight any longer. The monsters were horrendous, but according to Baker they only served the will of the Entity. It was all so confusing and scary. Dwight had never been a religious man, but lately he'd find himself whispering small pleads to an unknown compelling force every time he went to sleep. Pleads that maybe this time, he'd wake up in his bed back in his tiny apartment in town. 

When Dwight could feel the unmistakable pressure of having to pee, he got up from the log with a sigh and wandered a bit into the woods. Not too far away from the campfire, just enough to have some privacy. After he'd done his business he decided that it was useless to try and avoid the inevitable tomorrow, and that it was probably best to try and get at least a bit rest before the morning came. Although it was hard to tell when morning did come around this place, it was always dark and gloomy here. When Dwight quickly moved through the woods to get back to the campfire, he suddenly heard a branch snap a few feet behind him. A loud gasp escaped his lips and he quickly turned around to see what had made the sound.

"Relax, it's just me."

Jake. Dwight could see the green jacket and the dark yellow pants in the darkness but he couldn't figure out Jake's face amongst the shadows.

"O-oh... Right, I'm sorry, I thought you might have been..."

"One of the monsters?" Jake stepped forward so that Dwight could see his face a bit better. "They don't seem to come near the campfire."

Dwight swallowed and laughed sheepishly, trying to sound less scared than he had been.

"Hah! Yeah, you're right about that..."

He scratched the back of his head in a nervously manner and deeply wished he hadn't been such a chicken in front of Jake. He wanted to try and prove to the group that he wasn't a fucking coward, and here he was jumping at the slightest sound. He stood still for a couple of seconds, wondering what to do next. Did Jake want to have a conversation? Should he try and say something, ask him anything? But before he could muster up the courage to utter any words, Jake had continued his way through the forest without saying a word. Dwight was left were he stood, swallowing hard and mindlessly scratching his hands. Sleep, right. He was going to sleep. Damn, he was easily distracted. Usually he tried to keep his distance from Jake, the quiet man gave off an aura that didn't look too friendly and he acted like he mostly wanted to be left alone. Dwight had to admit though, that he was kind of intrigued by Jake's character. He knew he'd never have the balls to actually have a full conversation with him without making a total fool of himself though, so it was best to not hope on too much interaction. With a small sigh Dwight turned back towards the campfire. There he crawled into his tent, rolled out his sleeping bag and settled in. Eventually he drifted off into an uneasy rest that would end far too soon.


	2. A New Horror

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang finds themselves in a new place, Autohaven Wreckers. They also encounter a new monster...

The loud shrieking of a crow caused Dwight to jolt awake. Heart pounding in his chest from the nightmare he'd found himself in in his sleep, he sighed when he realized he was in another one as of now. Reaching for his glasses and putting them on, he sat up straight and looked around. Trees, lots of trees. Some rocks, and... a car? Dwight's heart jumped in his chest and he quickly rose from the cold ground to go investigate the vehicle, his head swarming with thoughts. Who's car was this? Were they here? Could he get out of here with it? As he got closer he could see that the windows were knocked out, and his heart dropped in his stomach when he reached the car and found it didn't even have any tires. This was only the corpse of an old Ford, seats eaten by rats and the passenger door hanging loose. No escaping with this thing. Frustrated Dwight looked around the area, scanning for more unusual objects. The moon was out, but hidden behind a thick layer of dark clouds, making his surroundings dark and unfamiliar. In the distance he could see the silhouette of a big building with a rounded roof. The mist was too thick for him to make out exactly what kind of building it was, but it seemed smart to approach it carefully. Please let it not be the slaughterhouse again, he thought to himself as he started sneaking towards the building. He was careful to stay in the shadows, and he tried to make as little noise as possible, barely breathing at times. He was good at staying hidden though, years of bullying in his childhood and teenage years had taught him how to move without being noticed and if it hadn't come out of such traumatic experiences, one could almost call it a skill.

Something seemed different about this place. Even though he'd never had a good sense of direction, he didn't recognize these woods. There seemed to be car tires and various other car parts scattered around the area as well. And as he got closer to what he had assumed was a building, these thoughts were confirmed. This was a new place. The building towering in front of him seemed to be some kind of old storage house, built entirely in rusted metal and barely standing. When Dwight sneaked around the building a loud buzzing noise made him turn his gaze upwards. Above him was a blaring, red sign that probably used to say what kind of place this was but now only had letters that were too scrapped to decipher. Beneath the sign a large opening in the wall revealed the insides of the metal building. It seemed to contain one big room only, and in the middle of this room was yet another old car. This one was on top of an seemingly very old, rusty car lift. Dwight searched the room with his gaze. A workbench, even more piles of car tires, some metal lockers. This was obviously a garage, but where were the mechanics? All the lights were on in the building, if not flickering quite eagerly, creating dark corners and big shadows around the room. Had someone been here recently? Were they still around? Dwight got his eyes on a generator, standing behind the car, it's lights also flickering softly in the gloomy darkness. He knew they had to do generators to escape, but he didn't dare start one already. He swallowed nervously and looked behind him, out into the woods. Where were the others, were they okay? Maybe he should go looking for them, or he could wait a bit and hope someone got here eventually. But how big was this place even? The other places were usually cut off by large brick walls, forming a literal cage where they were prey for the monsters. Dwight couldn't see any walls from where he stood now. Just when he started mindlessly biting his nails, a bad habit that always seemed to come out when he was under stress, he could hear something in the distance. It wasn't the rustling of the trees, or a crow. It was footsteps. The panic took over his body in seconds, heart pounding in his ears as he quickly looked behind him. He couldn't see anyone, but he could hear the footsteps getting closer so as quickly and quietly as he could he leaped into one of the metal lockers and closed the doors with just enough space to be able to peek through them. Holding a hand over his mouth in order to quiet his breathing, he peeked out through the clink, hoping that whatever was approaching hadn't heard him go into the locker. The red hair caught his attention first. It was Meg, crawling into the building through a window he hadn't noticed earlier. With a relieved sigh Dwight opened the locker doors and carefully stepped out from the locker, causing Meg to jump slightly when she noticed him.

"Jesus, Dwight", she sighed as she too started to quickly examine the garage.

"Sorry", Dwight said, giving her an excusing smile that she didn't notice. "I-I thought you might have been..."

"Yeah but I'm not, so keep it down, will you?", she replied without looking at him, now checking the generator behind the car lift.

She looked around in the garage, seeming to consider something, before she squatted down at the generator and started picking at it with her hands. Dwight sat down next to her, after casting a quick glance out the doors of the garage. Meg had already gotten some parts out of the generator and her hands had started to stain from the dirt and oil. 

"Did you notice that this place seems quite... ehm, new?" Dwight asked. "N-not as in 'new' new, but as in we've not been here before", he added with a nervous laughter.

"Yup", Meg answered without taking her gaze off the generator. "And I for one have no interest in staying in this 'new place' longer than necessary, so shut up and start helping maybe?"

Dwight could feel his face heating up as he quickly lowered his gaze towards the generator and started looking for the carburetor. It was easiest to start with them when working on these generators. Claudette had told him that. He soon found it and pried it out from its socket to examine it. From the outside it looked like it was working correctly, but he had to open it up to be sure. With tools this was a quite simple task, but alas they had no tools and he had to pry it open with his hands. It would take a while, but he had to try. Dwight wasn't very good at mechanical stuff, he was often the one who was the most unsure about what wires to connect and what screws to loosen or tighten in the generators. He threw a glance over at Meg, who gazed intensely into her part of the generator, frowning her eyebrows in concentration and nervously biting her lower lip. He wondered if she was just better at hiding her fear or if she managed to push it aside for the time being. They worked together in complete silence for a good couple of minutes, Dwight pausing now and then to wipe his hands on his jeans to get rid of the nervous sweating. They were already dirty from handling the screws and wires in the old generator, but he didn't really pay any mind to that anymore. There were far worse things out here than getting dirty hands. A sudden, distant sound caused them both to look up from their work.

"That was a generator", Meg said and looked behind them out into the woods.

The dim lights from the now functioning generator lit up in the far distance, seemingly some miles away from them. Claudette and Jake must have repaired it, and Dwight swallowed hard as he and Meg continued on their own generator. The sound and bright lights from a completed generator usually attracted danger, they all knew that. The monsters did not like it when they repaired the generators. But they had to, in order to escape. So they quickly continued on their work, only pausing to wipe their hands and study the wires. Dwight's heart was now pounding heavily, pumping blood and adrenaline into his body so that he would be ready to make a run for it and hide if needed be. But no sign of the monsters yet, and no screams that indicated that anyone had been hurt. A drop of sweat found its way into his eyes and he tried to blink it away as best as he could. Suddenly a spark ignited between the two wires he held in each hand. The short burst of heat burnt his fingers and caused the generator to make a loud puff. Dwight loudly drew in his breath and quickly retracted his hands from the generator. 

"Oh fuck..." he whimpered and quickly looked around him.

"For fuck's sake, keep focused you git!" Meg hissed at him and gave him a deadly stare that made him gulp and swiftly turn his gaze back to the generator.

His hands were shaking quite badly now, he was so afraid that he'd attracted the attention of the monsters with his stupid mistake. He swallowed a couple of times and tried to slow his heavy panting before he could continue on the generator, but the next second Meg let go of a soft: "Ah!" and the generator started cranking loudly, then it turned into a steady humming. She'd fixed it, it was running on full power now. Meg didn't bother to look back at Dwight but quickly got up from the ground and jogged away to look for the next one that needed to be fixed. Dwight followed on shaky legs. He didn't particularly enjoy Meg's company, but it sure was better than being all alone in this fucked up place. In the distance they could hear what sounded like another generator cackling, the others had managed to fix another one as well. They might actually make it out of here in one piece, Dwight thought to himself as he and Meg soon found a quiet generator placed within some large bushes. They sat down at it and started to work on it, neither of them saying a word. Dwight's forehead was sweaty, his armpits even more so. A part of him hoped and maybe even believed that the monster wouldn't find them this time but the other part of him screamed that the danger was just around the corner and that he should make a run for it. Where could he run? Nowhere, he'd tried that many times before and he always seemed to be running in circles, always ending up back at the same spot with the same generators and hopefully one of the others. It was no use running, he couldn't navigate himself through these woods anyhow. Besides, he was done being a fucking coward. He wanted to get out of here, but he also felt an obligation to help the others out as well. He had to help them, even if they from time to time didn't really show any interest in helping him. He didn't expect them to like him or even tolerate him, but they were the only ones he'd seen here ever since he got lost in the woods and he had to stick with them lest he die by the monsters hands. Just as he lift his shaky hand up to his temple to clear off some sweat, Dwight could hear a noise that made his heart freeze. BING-BONG-BING-BONG! It was the unmistakable clang of a bell, it's eerie, deep sound swallowing Dwight's body like a cold wave and making his ears hurt. He turned around to see a tall, dark figure appear right before his eyes, only a couple of meters away from where he sat. In its hand it held a big skull and in the other hand a large clapper that seemed to be made of... human bones. Dwight couldn't move, totally paralyzed he stared into the beasts burning, yellow eyes as it towered above him seemingly taller than a tree. Suddenly he could feel a firm grip around his wrist and he was pulled away by Meg who shouted:

"Dwight, c'mon!"

Just as they started to run, Dwight could feel a deep, burning pain in his right leg. He cried out in fear and pain, but Meg made him keep running.

"Come on!" she shrieked and forced him to run with his now limping leg.

Dwight was sure that it was the monster that had hit him. He didn't dare look behind him to see how close it was behind them, chasing them with it's long, slender legs and burning gaze. His leg burned and caused pain to shoot up through his body with every step he took, but Meg still had a hold on his wrist and refused to let go so he was made to run through the pain. They ran through the maze of car scrap and old machinery for what felt like a good 15 minutes until they found a small shack, dimly lit by a flickering lamp outside it's door.

"Get in!" Meg shouted and shuffled Dwight through the shack door, following quickly.

She closed the door behind them and Dwight collapsed onto the old, damaged wooden floorboards to catch his breath. He leaned up against the wall and sniffled loudly as he looked down on his leg, heart pounding and tears streaming down his face. Meg sat down beside him and was just about to say something as a soft ruffle of clothes made them both jump.  
"Is he okay? What happened?"

It was Jake, appearing from the shadows not much unlike the monster earlier. His voice sounded worried yet as oddly calm as it always was. He quickly kneeled down next to Meg.

"Shit! Don't scare us like that, fuck!" Meg shouted and almost fell from her squatting position near Dwight.

"Sorry, I just found this place and thought there'd be something new in here!"

Jake looked over towards Dwight, still sniffling in pain, holding his hurt leg. Dwight could see that he had his trusty old toolbox with him, as always.

"Let me see", he said and forcefully dragged away Dwight's hands from the leg.

Dwight couldn't hinder the panicked voice escaping his lips as Jake started examining his leg.

"It was.... Shit, it appeared f-f-from nowhere and I..."

"Shut up, you tool, or it finds us!" Meg hissed at him, staying on alert and looking around them in the shack.

Dwight looked down on his leg as Jake started to wrap it up with a bandage he'd taken out of his jacket pocket. He hissed in pain and Jake gave him a quick look. In the haze that the pain caused his brain, Dwight's mind saw Jake's look as unimpressed. It almost seemed angry, like he was judging him for getting caught by the monster. 

"I'm sorry..." Dwight sniffled. "I'm a fucking idiot! I-I-"

"Quiet", Jake said and Dwight swallowed hard, biting his lips as to stop them from making all these stupid sounds.

"That should hold it for now, but we need to get you to the camp and have Claudette take a look at it."

Jake got up and looked out of the window in the shack, quickly scanning the area.

"Meg, go find another generator to fix, we need to get out of here", he said, eyes still watching the outside.

"Well, duh!" Meg snapped, but rather than starting a fight she turned around and quickly slid out through the shack door, jogging away in the mist. 

Jake turned to Dwight.

"You think you can stand?"

He reached his hand out towards Dwight, who quickly wiped his face with the back of his hand to get the wet tears away and cleared his throat. 

"Y-yeah, I'll be alright", he said, trying to sound as confident as possible, and took Jake's hand.

Jake had a firm grip, his hand radiated warmth even trough the leather gloves he wore. Dwight had expected him to pull him up on his feet with force, but instead Jake took it slow, minding Dwight's hurt leg and following his pace. When Dwight stood up his leg gave into his weight and he almost fell over, but Jake caught him.

"Hold on" he said with a slight chuckle and took Dwight's arm and put it around his shoulders. 

Dwight could feel his ears heating up, and he quietly cursed himself for starting to blush. It was just Jake, why did he react like this? It was stupid, he was stupid and he felt so embarrassed he could have just told Jake to leave him there in the shack. But Jake took a firm grip around Dwight's shoulders, hissed him up a bit and started moving out from the shack.

"Let's see if we can find another generator to work on", he murmured as they ventured out in the machine graveyard again.

They moved slowly, Jake barely making any sound at all while he walked. Dwight tried to keep his breathing as quiet as he could, but it was hard. The pain bit his leg anew every time he took a step with it, and he had to bit his lip hard not to groan in pain. God, he was such a wuss. Jake could have probably handled this pain, but Dwight couldn't because he was weak. And Jake must have known it, how couldn't he? Wasn't this why he helped him, took pity on him? Dwight decided to shuffle those thoughts out of the way, they weren't helping him right now. Whatever Jake's reason was for helping him out like this, Dwight appreciated it greatly. Fuck, had he even told Jake that? He glanced over at the tall man with the black, fuzzy hair. A stern look of concentration laid upon his face, his dark eyes constantly scanning the area on the look for generators or dangers. 

"H-hey..." he stammered. "Thanks for... for helping me out. It really means alot to me."

Jake didn't reply, save for the quiet grunt that Dwight thought he heard rumbling in his throat, but it might have been nothing. Feeling a bit stupid and disheartened, he decided to scan for generators as well and soon they found one behind a couple of birch trees. They sat down at it and Jake took out a couple of tools from his toolbox and started working on it immediately whilst Dwight was a bit more hesitant. He looked around them for any sign of the monster, his heart rate picking up speed as he thought of the terrible sight he'd seen at his last generator. It had been so quiet, so quick when it appeared behind him out of thin air. So swift in it's movements, much faster than the other monsters. Suddenly, a short but loud scream could be heard tearing through the silent night. Jake stopped and looked up from the generator, Dwight's heart now hammering in his chest.

"That sounded like Meg!" he exclaimed and looked towards where the sound had come from. 

He was sure the fear could be read from his face as easily as an open book, because Jake grabbed his arm and made him look at him.

"We have to fix this generator, Dwight, you hear me? Meg's okay, she knows how to take care of herself-"

"B-but this monster wasn't like the other ones! It was faster, it-it-"

"Dwight, buddy!" Jake patiently grabbed a hold of both of Dwight's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "If Meg's in trouble, we'll know and we'll help her. Right now we need to get this generator fixed so that we can all escape, okay?"

Dwight wasn't sure how, but something about the warmth and depth in Jake's eyes made him feel calmer. His insides stopped screaming "DANGER! DANGER!" and his breathing returned to normal when he looked into Jake's eyes and heard him speak in that low, soothing voice. Dwight blinked a few times and took a deep breath.

"Yeah. Y-yeah, okay."

Jake returned to the wires on the generator and Dwight quickly found the carburetor and started prying it open with his shaky hands. A quiet THUD made him jump and he looked down in the grass beside him and saw that Jake had tossed him a screwdriver. He gave Jake a surprised look, but Jake didn't shift his attention from his work so Dwight mumbled a quiet "thanks" and continued on the carburetor. A couple of minutes went by, no more screams were heard and no monster showed up behind them. Dwight and Jake worked together in silence, only the cracking sound from their tools against the metal generator breaking the silence. Just as Dwight was about to put back the now finished carburetor, a loud, extended siren yelled through the woods. It only yelled once, and they both knew what it meant. It was the sound the gates made when they were fully powered. They didn't need to finish their generator, they could get out now. Jake quickly gathered his tools and got up.

"Come", he said and held out his hand towards Dwight, who gratefully took it and rose on his shaky legs. 

They swiftly started to move towards where they had heard the siren, Dwight constantly looking behind them waiting to see the monster appear. It never did, and soon they found a gate. It was still closed, but the light that flickered above it showed them that it was fully powered and ready to get opened at any second. They stopped at the gates and Jake turned towards Dwight.

"You think you can manage as I open up the gates?"

Dwight nodded and quickly went to stand back against the sides of the gates as Jake pulled down the handle that powered the gates. It usually took some time for the gates to open up, so they stood there in suspense silence and waited. The gates started making sounds, that was a good sign. Soon they would be out of here, but where was Meg and Claudette? Dwight scanned the area with his eyes , wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to stop shaking from the cold wind as well as the fear. What if they didn't...? No, he couldn't think like that, he had to believe that they'd be alright. They were gonna be alright, they'd all make it out of here alive. As the gates started to beep loudly, an indicator that they were opening, Dwight could see two figures emerging from the mist. Claudette helped a badly wounded Meg as they ran as fast as they could towards Dwight and Jake.

"Open the fucking gates!" Meg yelled, as they came closer Dwight could see blood squirting from her mouth. 

"I am!" Jake screamed, and in the same moment the gates made a piercing, shrieking sound as they opened and revealed the outside to them. 

They were free. Just as Dwight started limping towards the gates, a loud BING-BONG-BING-BONG rang in his ears and made him freeze in place. There it was, appearing right in front of him. The tall monster with the yellow eyes. Dwight screamed and tried to take a step back, but accidentally put all his weight on his hurt leg instead and fell hard on the cold ground. He could hear the others scream his name, but all he could see was those yellow, piercing eyes as the monster lifted it's weapon to strike. Dwight barely had time to cover his face before the chilling bite of the blade cut through his arm and made him scream in pain. Another hit in the face made his vision blurry, and the voices of the others got even more distant. This was it, he was going to die. The monster was going to kill him. 

\---

Jake saw the creature appearing from thin air, right in front of his eyes. The sound of its bell rang loudly in his ears, made him temporarily deaf for a few moments. He saw Dwight fall to the ground, and screamed his name before he could hinder himself. The monster attacked with its blade that looked to be made out of bone and caused a gaping wound to Dwight's arm. 

"Jake, come on! We have to leave!"

He didn't hear Claudette screaming, he was already running towards Dwight and the monster. What was he going to do? He stood no chance against the monsters, and this one seemed taller and swifter than the others. Another hit to the face. Without thinking, Jake picked up a heavy rock from the ground and jumped at the monster. He swung the rock as hard as he managed at the monster's skull. The monster made a terrible sounding scream and wobbled a few steps to the side, before swiftly turning around to face Jake. When it saw him it made the same horrendous scream again, before charging towards him. Jake didn't have time to think, he quickly threw himself forwards towards the monster, jumping past it as it attacked with its blade. Then he sprinted away from Dwight, as far away as he could before he turned towards the monster and screamed:

"C'mon, you fucker! It's me you want, come get it you son-of-a-bitch!"

It worked, the monster was annoyed at him and wanted him dead. It started running towards him and without hesitation he turned and ran as fast as he could back into the machinery graveyard. He could hear Claudette scream his name but he didn't look back. He just ran, silently praying that he would be able to shake the monster somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry Meg is such an asshat, I needed her to be so for this story ;_; buckle up, MegHeads, she's only gonna get worse! D:


	3. I Got You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being rescued by Jake, Dwight feels very ungrateful and pathetic. Little does he know, Jake knows just how to make things better...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ssssoooooooo yeaahhhh things are finally heating up a bit, paving the way for what (hopefully) is to come... ;)))
> 
> I had so much fun writing this chapter, eeek! Dwight is such a smol bean, I hope I didn't make him stutter unnaturally often. I want to try and keep things as realistic as possible, Googling and researching about stuff I don't know and such. Anyways, I won't hold you any longer, have at it! <3

Dwight woke up at the campfire without the slightest clue on how he'd gotten there. Last thing he remembered was staring into those horrifying, yellow eyes and preparing for a pain that would last a long time. Yet here he was, laying on top of his sleeping bag, seemingly alive. He carefully lifted his head and grunted at the pain that exploded in his right side of the temple.

"Hey, relax. You got quite a beating, the both of you."

It was Claudette's voice. Dwight tried to focus his gaze but couldn't get the blurry figures in front of him to get any clearer. 

"Ah, right. Here, I kept them safe while we ran out from there."

Claudette handed him his glasses and he happily put them on. Now he could see they were outside, at the camp fire. The others must have dragged his sleeping bag out from his tent so he could lay on it here, that thought warmed Dwight's insides a bit. Claudette was sitting on a log next to him and Meg leaning against it, sitting on the ground. She was indeed quite beaten, a big bruise starting to form on her cheek and her lip swollen and covered in dried blood. Claudette carefully wiped away the dried blood with a wet piece of cloth and Meg grunted in disapproval but stayed still so Claudette could clean her wounds. Dwight could see that his leg was properly wrapped in bandage now, so was his left arm. He carefully slid up in sitting position and looked around the campfire.

"W-what happened? Where's Jake?" he asked, and Claudette answered without drawing her attention from tending to Meg's wounds.

"The monster had you. We thought you were done for, it-it didn't look good. Then Jake... He distracted the monster, made it run after him instead. I saw my chance and got you up from the ground and we all limped out to the campfire, then you collapsed on the ground and I wrapped you up and cleaned your wounds."

Dwight sat quietly for a few moments, taking in Claudette's story. Jake had got the monster to run after him, instead of killing Dwight. Jake had... made the monster take him instead of Dwight. It couldn't be so.

"Where's Jake?" he asked again, looking at Claudette, dreading the answer.

She bit her lip and gave him a still look before looking down and then back at Meg's wounds. That was enough to tell Dwight that Jake hadn't made it back. He had sacrificed himself for Dwight. It was Dwight's fault that he hadn't made it back, his stupidity and carelessness had caused this. Dwight felt his heart drop in his stomach and he suddenly got really cold. His throat went dry and no matter how much he swallowed, it didn't help. He had screwed Jake over, he had made sure that Jake now suffered the eternal pain that would only stop once he got back in a new place with a new monster. He wouldn't be coming to the campfire tonight, he wouldn't have a chance to rest with them, regain his strength. And it was Dwight's fault.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, Dwight", Claudette said in a low voice, looking over at him. "What Jake did was noble, he knew what he did and he wanted to do it. You didn't cause it."

Dwight's breathing got faster and he started scratching his hands and wrists. He felt like he could throw up. He wanted to get away from the others, wanted to be alone but his hurt leg wouldn't let him move. 

"Oh, would you chill, for fuck's sake!" Meg snarled at him, sitting up a bit more straight. "This is what happens here, haven't you got that into your thick head yet? We bleed and die and repeat, that's the only thing that happens to us here! Jake's gonna come back tomorrow when we wake up because there is no escaping this bloody hell hole!"

"Meg", Claudette said sharply. "Calm down."

"No, tell him to calm down!" Meg said, her voice rising. "Tell him that he's gonna go fucking nuts if he doesn't man up, and we won't be there to save him every fucking time!"

"Meg!" 

Claudette looked over at Dwight with a worried look, looking back at Meg and holding her arm steadily.

"Meg, be quiet. Please!"

Meg shook free from Claudette's grip and got up from the ground with a mutter.

"We're fucking doomed", she said as she started limping away from the campfire.

Dwight didn't look at her, he had buried his face into his hands and was fighting against the tears burning behind his eyes. Breathing got harder and he had to take in huge, trembling gulps of air to even get the smallest amount into his lungs. She was right of course, he wouldn't make it long here. He was useless at everything and he couldn't have them saving him every time he screwed up. He just wanted to get away from here, he wanted to be back in his flat in town. He wanted to be alone again, he was useless amongst people anyways. 

"Hey."

He looked up at Claudette, who had sat down right next to him and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay. Jake's strong, he can handle this. It's not your fault."

Dwight avoided her gaze, stubbornly staring down on his hands while frantically scratching them. He felt so stupid, he just wish she could leave him alone. The sound of a branch cracking made him look back up again, and his mouth dropped open when he saw Jake limping towards them from out of the woods. He didn't look too good, he was holding his arm against his body and a big wound could be seen on his hand. Neither Dwight nor Claudette said anything as he approached them and sat down at the campfire with a loud thud. He breathed heavily and looked down on his arm. Slowly he released it, hissing in pain and clenching his cheeks as he tried to move it.

"Hold on", Claudette said and got up from where she sat next to Dwight.

She quickly walked over to her medicine bag and started taking out bandages.

"Is it-"

"Broken, yeah", Jake grunted and tried moving as little as possible as to not make the arm hurt more. "At least I think so."

Claudette quickly took a branch from the campfire, a branch that hadn't yet caught on fire, and placed it on the side of Jake's lower arm. She started wrapping bandage around it and finished it off with tying a bandage around Jake's neck, connecting it with the bandage in his arm so he wouldn't have to hold up the arm by himself. Then she proceeded to look at his hand. Dwight threw quick glances over at Jake, being careful as to not let Jake see that he was looking at him. He didn't know what to say, he wanted to thank Jake but he still felt embarrassed after what Meg had said and he was afraid his voice would crack if he tried speaking. Suddenly Jake scoffed, and Dwight looked up to see him looking right at him.

"I'm not even getting a 'thank you'? You could look happier about being rescued, you know."

Dwight's heart picked up pace and he could feel his throat contract by the tears that wanted to emerge once again. You fucking idiot, he thought to himself. You complete, utter moron. 

"I'm... I'm s-s-sorry, I'm s-so sorry..." he began stammering, swallowing hard in an attempt to push down the crying.

He avoided Jake's look and frantically scratched his arms. It was a bad habit, like his nail biting, but he couldn't cope with the tremendous stress he was feeling right now in any other way. He just wanted to sink through the earth and disappear forever. Jake thought that he wasn't grateful, Jake thought he was rude as all hell and he so wanted to say something more but the words seemed to get stuck in the big lump in his throat.

"I-I didn't- I..." 

"H-Hey", Jake stopped him. "Hey, I was just messing. It was stupid of me, I'm sorry."

Dwight still didn't manage to face Jake, his gaze was glued to his shoes. By gods, he wanted to run away from there and never return. He was almost crying in front of Jake because he couldn't take a joke, he was pathetic. Fucking pathetic.

"Hey. Dwight, I'm sorry, I-"

Jake hissed when Claudette cleaned the wound on his hand and started wrapping bandage tightly around it.

"Sorry", she murmured, and quickly finished so she could get up and leave Jake and Dwight alone.

Dwight still couldn't bare facing Jake, so he shut his eyes tightly and rested his head in his palms in hopes that Jake would also leave. He didn't, instead Dwight could hear him sitting down next to him on the ground. 

"Hey, look, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that", Jake said in his low, warm voice and Dwight couldn't help but look up at him.

Jake gave him an examining look, tilting his head just a little bit. The light from the campfire lit up the side of his face, made the darkness in his eyes shine in a magical way. He was... beautiful. Dwight swallowed hard and tried to speak, his voice still shaking after holding back the tears.

"I-It's okay, don't worry about it. I-I should have thanked you, I'm really sorry I-"

Jake shook his head with a hint of a smile on his lips.

"No, you don't have to thank me. I know you're grateful, I can see it on you."

Dwight blinked a couple of times and laughed nervously.

"You can?"

Jake's eyes smiled at him, his face keeping the calm look it always possessed.

"Yeah."

Dwight felt a bit calmer now, the urge to cry settling down a bit inside him. His breathing got calmer and his heart finally seemed to stop its pounding. He sniffled and scratched his forehead.

"I wouldn't have made it if you... If you hadn't been there", he said, giving Jake a quick glance but swiftly looking away as he could feel his ears starting to burn. "I... That monster... It scared the shit out of me, i-it was like I couldn't move..."

They sat quiet for a few moments, then Dwight mustered up some courage and looked at Jake.

"Why did you help me?"

Jake's gaze was fixated at the fire. He shrugged and said:

"Why not? Couldn't leave you there on your own, that wouldn't have been cool."

The seemingly nonchalant way he answered made Dwight guess that he had no clue whatsoever how much this had meant to him.

"It... It means a lot to me, really", he murmured, looking into the flames of the fire.

In some odd way, the fire actually seemed to warm his body a bit now. He could feel Jake watching him, so he turned his head to meet the brown eyes and get a wave of heat sent through his body. Jake studied him for a few seconds, then said:  
"You're not alone in this. It fucking sucks here, but you're not alone."

Hearing Jake say those words did something to Dwight. He looked into Jake's eyes for a few seconds, and then he couldn't hold back the tears anymore. They started filling his eyes and he quickly turned his face away to wipe them away, but they kept coming and soon his cheeks were wet and his body was trembling as his breathing picked up once again. 

"Shit, I'm sorry! Did I say anything wrong?" Jake asked in a concerned voice.

Dwight shook his head and took a deep breath.

"No, not at all! I... It's just been..."

He took a couple of breaths and tried to slow down the crying, but it didn't help much. He didn't know why he reacted like this. Was it because looking into Jake's eyes and seeing actual empathy was that new to him? Possibly. He didn't get a lot of understanding or empathy at work, most people just looked past him. That was, if they weren't bored and needed someone to pick on, then Dwight was in the spotlight as the lucky winner. He didn't have a social life outside of work, save for his mother who called him from time to time. She never understood, so he never told her about his miserable life. He just told her things were alright, that work was fine and he hung out with people in his free time. The truth was he hadn't had a friend in years, and sitting here in this horrendous place with someone as likable and compassionate as Jake, and this person showing some form of actual concern about his well being, it was all so weird. 

"I... I just hate this fucking place s-so much", Dwight sobbed, frustratingly wiping his eyes. "And I j-j-just feel... S-so useless and-and..."

"Hey, you're not useless. Don't say that, okay?" Jake said in a sharp voice and Dwight looked back at him.

"I-"  
"Don't ever say that, okay?" Jake said again, placing a firm hand on Dwight's shoulder. "We're gonna get out of here one way or another, that's a fucking promise, you hear me?"

Dwight met his stern gaze and nodded while swallowing back the tears. Then Jake asked something he'd never expected.

"Can I... I mean, is it okay if I give you a hug? You look like you'd need one."

A nervous laughter escaped Dwight's lips and he clenched his cheeks to stop it abruptly. God, he was such a wreck. He wanted nothing more right now then for Jake to touch him, he needed it. But he didn't feel like he deserved it. He shrugged, avoided Jake's stare. Then he nodded. A few seconds went by, and then he could feel Jake's arm around his shoulders. He squeezed his shoulders gently, and Dwight leaned a bit into the hug with a big, trembling sigh. Feeling Jake's warm body pressed against his, the feeling of protection that his arm around his shoulders radiated, Dwight couldn't have asked for more in that moment. It was such a strange feeling, to have someone embrace you, but it was a feeling he'd longed for for a very long time and he never wanted this moment to end. They sat like that in silence, no one uttering a word, while Dwight's sobbing became quieter and eventually stopped completely. After a while Meg and Claudette came back to the campfire, sitting down on the opposite side of the fire. Dwight, feeling quite tired after his crying, was struggling to stay awake and didn't notice them. Jake still had his arm around his shoulders and they'd both settled into their positions, leaning against one of the logs. Claudette suddenly speaking made Dwight jump and he quickly made an attempt to straighten his posture where he was sitting, causing Jake to retreat his arm from his shoulders.

"How you feeling, Dwight?"

"Better", Dwight cackled, his voice a bit rusty after crying.

He cleared his throat and silently cursed himself for making Jake retreat his arm. He wanted him to hold him more. 

"T-thanks for helping out with the wounds..." he added with a little smile towards Claudette.

She smiled back.

"Anytime, bud."

They sat around the fire for a while, Claudette and Meg speaking to each other in low voices as if they didn't want to disturb the guys. Dwight and Jake didn't speak though, they just sat in silence staring into the fire. Dwight wanted to hold Jake, he wanted to at least sit a bit closer to him. Just when he was about to muster up the courage to move an inch closer to the quiet man, Jake got up. Fuck, he was probably going to sleep. Dwight glanced up at him shyly, but instead of leaving Jake stood quiet for a few seconds and then looked down at him.

"Hey, you need a hand getting to the tent? You look kinda worn out, maybe time to try and catch some sleep."

Dwight stared blankly at Jake for a couple of seconds, and then he quickly cleared his throat.

"Yeah! I-I mean... That'd be nice of you, thanks!"

He could feel his ears heating up a bit and he swallowed hard and tried to look as chill as possible when Jake offered his hand and carefully pulled him up from the ground. 

"Let me get that", he said and quickly bent down to pick up the sleeping bag.

Then he put Dwight's arm around his shoulders, they said good night to Claudette and Meg and slowly headed towards the tent. Dwight could feel Claudette and Meg staring after them, probably as shocked from Jake's behavior as Dwight was. Jake never stuck around long at the campfire, he usually just sat around for a bit after they'd escaped and then he took off into the woods to his own little place. Now he was helping Dwight limp to his tent and Dwight had to focus on his breathing not to let his heart race too much. When they arrived at the tent opening they stopped, and for a few moments the silence between them was crushingly awkward. Dwight didn't know what to do or say, so he let out a shy laugh and said:

"S-So... This is my stop, I guess..."

Jesus christ, man, you didn't manage to sound any dorkier? But Jake just glanced at him and said:

"I guess it is. You got it, or you need help getting-"

"No! No, no, I-I got it, no problem!" Dwight chuckled nervously and quickly withdrew his arm from Jake's shoulders.

He didn't want to seem like he lingered, he didn't want Jake to think that he wanted to... To do what?

"Thanks s-so much, really... F-For everything today, I... I don't know how to thank you properly..."

He cleared his throat in an attempt to stop the stammering, but Jake slightly tilting his head and examining him with those dark eyes didn't exactly help him out. He felt really stupid, standing there on one leg, ears and face probably blushing heavily already. 

"No problem, Dwight", Jake said with a hint of a smile on his lips. "Really, don't worry about it. I don't want you getting hurt."

Dwight's heart skipped a beat and he could feel his stomach radiating warmth through his whole body. His eyes threw a quick glance at Jake's lips and he swallowed as he had to blink a few times to clear his head.

"Y-yeah... You're... That's really kind of you, really."

Jake just shrugged slightly and then looked at the tent.

"Well, don't wanna keep you out here, let me just..."

He knelt down in front of the tent and opened the zipper so that Dwight could get in easily. Then he proceeded to crawl into the tent, and Dwight almost choked on his own saliva and had to cough loudly.

"W-W-What are you..."

Jake quickly unfolded the sleeping bag on the ground in the tent and looked back at him with an amused little smile playing on his lips. Then he crawled back out from the tent and straightened up. Dwight laughed sheepishly and could feel his face heating up again.

"R-Right, thanks again", he said with a quick glance into the warm, dark eyes. "Well... Good night, I guess."

He then began to clumsily bend down so that he could get into the tent, but it was quite a struggle with only one functioning leg. He felt terribly stupid, but managed to get down on all fours and carefully got into the tent and sat down on the sleeping bag with a sigh. His leg hurt quite a lot, but he didn't want to seem like a wuss in front of Jake so he tried to keep the grunts of pain to a minimum. When he turned his face towards the tent opening, he could see Jake had already disappeared. With a deep sigh he started untying his shoes. This proved to be very difficult on the hurt leg, since he didn't really want to bend it to get closer to the foot. He grunted impatiently and finally got the shoe kicked off with the help of the other foot. Then he could hear something moving outside of his tent, footsteps approaching. He stiffened and listened, and Jake's low voice was heard from the outside of the tent.

"You know, you can just ask if you need any more help", he said, Dwight could detect a hint of amusement behind his tone.

Dwight grinned and bit his lip, feeling his heart pick up the pace again as he thought about Jake coming back to his tent when hearing his struggle with the shoes.

"I... I managed to get the shoes off", he replied, chuckling slightly. "B-But I still might need some help... w-with the..."

His voice faded out, but he could hear Jake carefully approaching the tent, opening and crouching down so that his face was visible again. 

"You want me to help you get out of those bloodstained pants?" he said, the corner of his mouth twitching into a little smile.

Dwight chuckled nervously and looked down on his pants that were indeed hardened by all the blood that had emerged from his wound.

"That'd be... quite nice actually", he laughed and Jake quietly moved into the tent, zipping the doors closed behind him. 

It was now quite dark in the tent. Dwight could still see Jake's silhouette and if he looked closely he could figure out his face.

"I, uh, realize that could be taken the wrong way", Jake said with an excusing chuckle, and Dwight laughed nervously. "I didn't mean-"

"No, i-it's alright!" Dwight reassured him, realizing afterwards that his quick response could be read as a bit too eager to the situation.

He stiffened, holding his breath in the wait for Jake's response. Had he fucked it up now? But Jake let out a slight chuckle and said:

"So, let's get this over with, eh?"

Dwight let out a sigh of relief and nodded before realizing that Jake probably couldn't see he did it.

"I'll just... I-I'll unbuckle and then you can just... Ehm..."

"Yeah."

Dwight began to unbuckle his belt, but holy fuck where his hands shaky. This situation was beyond odd now. He was in a tent with Jake, unzipping his pants. The thought of the pure absurdity of it all made him laugh nervously as his fingers slipped again and again until he finally got the belt up. He jerked the pants down so they were below his butt.

"Is it okay if I...?" he could hear Jake asking, and he nodded again before exclaiming:

"Y-Yeah, go ahead!"

A rustling of clothes told him that Jake got closer to him, he was now sitting right next to him. This was such a stupid situation, yet Dwight's heart pounded in his chest and he couldn't help but wish that Jake somehow would decide to sleep in the tent with him tonight. He quickly shook the thought away however, it was a stupid thought and it surely didn't help him calm down right now. The moment he felt Jake's warm hands touch his bare thighs for just a split second, he had to swallow hard not to let any silly sounds escape his lips. Jake quickly moved his hands to grab the pants and started pulling them down, with the help of Dwight's free hand. With a slight struggle they got the pants off completely, without hurting the leg too much. 

"T-Thanks, really, that was... Thanks!" Dwight exhaled as he could hear Jake folding his pants and placing them on the ground beside them. "I-I realize how incredibly silly this must feel to you and-and I deeply apologize for..."

"Hey", Jake cut him off. "It's alright, I wanted to help, remember? You don't need to apologize for anything."

"Right... Y-Yeah."

Dwight nervously scratched his ear, avoiding Jake's glance even though it was a bit too dark to figure out if he even looked at him right now. 

"I-I want you to know I... I really appreciate the things you've done for me today a-and I... Yeah, I appreciate it greatly", he said, trying not to sound too mushy this time.

Jake didn't answer, but a low hum of acknowledgment let him know that he had heard him.

"Well", Jake said and to Dwight's great dismay he could hear him moving. "Better let you get some sleep now."

He crawled towards the opening and unzipped.

"Oh..." Dwight said with a small voice. "Y-Yeah, I guess you're right..."

In the light from the campfire outside, he could see Jake giving him a little smile before crawling out of the tent. He turned around to zip the tent back together, and said:

"Goodnight then."

"Goodnight", Dwight replied, hoping he didn't sound too disappointed. 

Jake zipped the tent back together and Dwight could hear him get up and walk away from the tent. He found himself sitting in the same spot for a few minutes, listening out for more footsteps. But Jake didn't come back this time, and with a big sigh Dwight awkwardly settled into his sleeping bag and soon found some kind of rest.


	4. A Piece of Paper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang have escaped the monster with the chainsaw, and regroup at the campfire. Claudette thinks she might have found something of interest in the Thompson house, but Jake has his doubts.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Meg screamed as she anxiously jumped on the spot with her arm fully stretched out to help Claudette get over the gap.

Dwight and Jake stood behind her, Jake not uttering a word and Dwight mumbling small pleads that Claudette would make it. In the distance he could hear the hellish roars from the chainsaw, as the monster approached them at a seemingly inhuman speed. Claudette was running towards them, getting closer and closer to the gap by the second. She ignored Meg's out stretched hand and jumped across the gap with a shriek, just as the monster ran up behind her and threw its chainsaw at her. The metal blades hit the spikes that erupted from the gap, trapping the monster on the other side. The group of survivors gazed upon the monster with a mixture of fright and curiosity, meeting its gaze from behind the tall spikes. They had survived another trial in hell, the monster couldn't get to them now. As Dwight peeked from behind Meg's back, he met the monster's yellow, fiery eyes. Although seemingly on fire, the gaze they gave off was a dead one, lacking any hint of soul or thought behind them. Its big, disfigured body was trembling after the chase, its breath heavy and rustling like the breath of an angry bull. The monster roared in anger at their escape and threw its big cattle hammer at the spikes, causing Dwight to jump. It was clearly taunted by them standing there, watching. It wanted to mutilate them, kill them, but the spikes held up a strong barrier that not even the monster could break through. They guessed this was the will of the Entity, always making sure the monsters knew they couldn't hurt them beyond this point. Always making sure the beasts were even more hungry for blood the next time they met their prey...

"Let's get out of here", Jake murmured, with no objections from the others.

The four of them turned around and hurried back into the thick mist, searching for the familiar light from the campfire.

Once safely back at their camp, Dwight collapsed onto a log with his hand grabbing his hurt shoulder steadily. He had escaped with a dislocated shoulder, but he considered himself far luckier than Meg. He watched as she slowly sat down at another log, cursing quietly and holding her leg. Or, what was left of her leg. Dwight could only throw a quick glance at the bloody mess before his stomach protested and he had to look away. He never knew a chainsaw could cut through flesh and bones that easily. Jake sat on the other log beside Dwight, breathing heavily as he studied his hurt foot. Claudette was the only one who was still standing, leaning against a pine tree with one hand and trying to recover her breath. Dwight lowered his gaze towards the paper she steadily held in her free hand. She had run back for it, almost killing herself to retrieve it from the house before leaving with the others. Dwight would have never thought Claudette had it in her to be that daring and stupid, as to risk her own life for a piece of paper. What was it, and how did she know it was that important? Dwight quickly learned that he wasn't the only one with these questions on his mind, as Jake looked up from his hurt foot to stare at Claudette.

"What were you thinking?" he hissed, still a bit too out of breath to fully yell. "Why did you run back for that thing? You almost got yourself mangled to pieces over a stupid piece of paper!"

Claudette met his gaze and took a few deep breaths to slow her own breathing down.

"It's a map, I found it in the house. I haven't seen anything like it before, it could give us some clues on how to escape this place."

She was still obviously shaken after the escape, but Dwight could see on her face that she also was irritated about being yelled at. A sudden grunt of pain from Meg caused Claudette to turn her gaze on the injured girl, and, as if she had completely forgotten that they had a furiously bleeding person with them, she exclaimed:

"Shit, Meg, I'm so sorry! Hold on!"

She quickly ran into their tent and came out with her trusty med kit, kneeling down next to Meg to try and stop the bleeding as best as she could. Dwight looked over at Jake, who hadn't taken his eyes off Claudette and was still showing signs of displease in his expression. Dwight didn't know what to say to ease the tension that was arising, so he decided to stay quiet and try not to move his shoulder too much. He hoped that Claudette would have time to examine it when she had gotten some control over Meg's bleeding leg. Meg was quiet, furiously wiping away the tears of pain and occasionally cursing when Claudette touched her leg.

"It was still stupid to risk your life for a map that may or may not help us..." Jake muttered and was about to try and get up from the log, but a sudden reaction from Meg got them all freezing in place, staring at her.

"Oh, shut up" she yelled, causing Claudette to stop mid wrapping her leg in rags and backing away a few inches. "You're one to talk, I didn't see you at all during the whole time! Where in the fuck were you, huh?!"

Her eyes glared at Jake, she looked like she was ready to punch him hadn't she been lacking one functional leg at the moment. 

"I did three generators... All on my own!" she said through gritted teeth. "And I almost lost my fucking leg! And where in the fuck were you that whole time, Jake?"  
She hissed when Claudette wrapped the rags tightly, and Claudette gave her an excusing look. Dwight looked nervously from Meg to Jake, as Jake's eyes darkened and he responded:

"Where was I? I was out there scouting for a radio tower, a cabin, anything to get us out of here!"  
"And did you find any?" Meg cut back immediately, probably knowing they already knew the answer.

Jake clenched his jaw, and without a word he got up from his log and marched into the woods.

"That's what I thought..." Meg muttered and returned her attention to Claudette wrapping her leg. "There's nothing out here except those monsters."

She sniffled and dried her nose with the back of her hand, nodding gratefully towards Claudette as the bushy haired girl tied the last knot on the bandage and got up from the ground.

"Dwight, want me to take a look at your shoulder?" she said and turned towards Dwight, who still had his eyes on the spot between the trees where Jake had disappeared.

"Uh... What? Oh!" he exclaimed and made room for Claudette on his log. "Y-yes, yes, thank you, that'd be really nice of you."

He was wondering whether or not he should follow Jake into the woods. He wanted to talk to him, but he was not that good at calming people down when they were angry. It was too late now anyways, Claudette had begun studying his shoulder.

"You really knocked it good there..." she said with a slight chuckle, carefully pinching at his arm.

Dwight hissed in pain at her touch and let out a nervous chuckle.

"Yeah, I-I should be more careful."

Claudette searched in her med kit and pulled out some old clothes that she had ripped into single bindings. Dwight knew she had found the clothes in the woods where they had been partially buried in the soil, dirty and bug eaten. No bodies to accompany the clothes, thankfully. Dwight met Claudette's gaze as she fondled the dirty bindings, carefully looking at him.

"I-I know they're really dirty and absolutely not hygienic", she said with a faint voice. "But I thought since you don't seem to have any open wounds this time I could... wrap your shoulder in these."

Dwight bit his lower lip and swallowed. Normally he was quite the germaphobe, cleaning his apartment as often as he could and avoiding shaking people's hands at work to the extent that he was considered a bit rude. It didn't really seem to matter too much here, though, if they caught any diseases. All their wounds and aches always seemed to have healed fully by the time they awoke in the monsters' grounds after going to sleep in the camp. By tomorrow Meg would be able to run on her leg again as if it had never been partially sawed off.

"That's alright..." Dwight managed to express, and he could see Claudette relaxing a bit.

"This goes against every fiber in my body", she chuckled slightly as she started wrapping his shoulder. "Knowing the bacteria that resides in... Well, i-it's better than nothing."

She tied together the clothes around Dwight's neck so that his shoulder and arm was now supported, then she retreated back to the log that she usually sat on. Dwight looked at her as she seemed to ponder about something for a couple of seconds, then she reached into her front pocket and took out the wrinkled piece of paper that she had found. Without a word she straightened out the paper on her lap and started examining it while biting her thumb nail. Dwight threw a glance over at Meg, who appeared to already be half asleep on her log, then he quietly cleared his throat and asked Claudette:

"So... What exactly is that?"

Claudette didn't look up or say anything for a good couple of seconds, and Dwight thought she maybe wouldn't answer when she suddenly let out a sigh.

"From the looks of it, it seems to be some kind of map. I'm pretty sure that's supposed to be the big house in the cornfields, and that must be generators..."

She pointed with her finger on the map as she spoke, and Dwight carefully got up from his log and sat down next to her so he could take a look at the paper in her hand. It did indeed look like some sort of map. The figures on it were hastily scribbled down, with something that must be charcoal. There was a house, some generators with arrows pointing between them, and...

"What's that?" Dwight mumbled and put his finger on something that looked unmistakably like handwriting in the upper corner of the paper.

To this, he received yet another sigh from Claudette.

"I have no clue, and it bugs me! It's some form of writing, b-but it's not in English or... seemingly any language at all!"

Dwight leaned in closer and narrowed his eyes onto the scribbles. It was indeed not English, it didn't even look like letters. Just some seemingly random symbols, sharp and cut-like.

"The journal!" Dwight suddenly remembered. "Do you have it?"

He looked at Claudette, who at first didn't seem to know what he was talking about. Then a light ignited in her eyes as she widened them and got up from the log and ran into her tent again. This time she emerged with the little book in her hands, sitting down next to Dwight again and opening it with slightly shaking hands. They both sat quiet as she flickered through the pages like they'd all done so many times before, but this time they searched for anything that could resemble the symbols on the map. But everything written in there was still only in English, and Dwight could hear Claudette's voice having a hint of desperation in it as she spoke.

"I-I really, really thought there'd be something this time... Something that could..."

Her voice trailed off and Dwight swore he could hear it cracking as if she was trying to hold back tears. He glanced at her quickly and saw her lean her head into her hands and take a couple of deep breaths.

"It just doesn't make any sense... It's all so f-frustrating..." she whispered and her voice gave in as she started quietly sobbing.

Dwight wanted to hold her, comfort her, but all he managed to do was gently lay a hand on her back and sit with her in silence. She was a determined person, very intelligent and helpful. Dwight had seen her look upset and sad a couple of times, but never actually seen her cry like this. It was heart breaking, to see her so helpless and frustrated, as she usually was the one keeping her cool and always on top of finding solutions and answers. Dwight had really hoped, when he had looked down on the map, that it would show them something new. Something that would help them escape.

"M-maybe it's just gibberish", he heard himself say in an attempt to ease Claudette's worry. "Maybe the symbols don't mean anything at all."

Claudette wiped the tears from her face and let out a trembling sigh.

"W-where did he go?" she asked as she flickered through the pages in the journal again. "What happened to him? He seems to know... to have known things about this place a-and yet... he's nowhere around. What happened to him?"

As she repeated the question, she looked directly at Dwight as if she hoped that he somehow held the answers. Dwight could only manage a painful smile as he shook his head and mumbled:

"I don't know..."

Dwight woke up at the sound of a branch falling apart in the campfire, sparks flying into the cold night air. He must have fallen asleep. He looked around him to find he was alone at the campsite, Claudette and Meg must have retreated into their tent to sleep. Dwight got up from the ground where he had rested against a log, his back hurt a bit and his neck was sore from falling asleep head to chest. He took a look at the fire and decided to throw some more logs into it. He gathered a few twigs and smaller logs that they had collected near the campsite and threw them into the fire, watching as they were eagerly licked by the dancing flames. They had found the campsite abandoned when they arrived here the first time, but the campfire had been burning strong. Since then they had kept throwing branches and wood into it to feed the flames. They didn't dare think of what would happen if the fire were to die, as it seemed to be the only thing here that brought them even the smallest form of comfort. It was constantly night here, and having some form of light to gather around seemed to keep their hopes up, if ever so slightly. Dwight stood and looked into the dark woods, wondering where Jake was. He hadn't come back at all since he stormed off in a rage, and Dwight was a bit worried that he might have gotten lost in the woods. Although, one couldn't seem to get lost amongst these trees. However long you wandered around out there, somehow you would always end up here again. At the campsite, with the campfire welcoming you back. There was no escape, not even dying seemed to be an escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this was a shorter chapter, not much happening in it, but I wanted to keep it in the story anyhow. To make up for it I'm posting the next chapter tonight as well, rejoice!


	5. The Car

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at Autohaven Wreckers, Meg has found a car she thinks she might be able to hot-wire. Will she succeed before the monster finds them all? And if she doesn't, what will it cost?
> 
> (cw; this chapter gets gory, as we get hung up on a hook!)

The next time they woke up they found themselves back at the car cemetery. Dwight had woken up next to a big, yellow school bus. He had ventured inside it, but quickly found that looking upon the tattered seats and soiled floors had made his stomach turn when the mental image of rotting children's corpses had found it's way into his head, so he had sneaked out. To his relief he had soon found Claudette, and the two of them had found a generator to start working on. Now they had been working on it for a good 30 minutes, Dwight guessed, but they had neither seen nor heard anyone else. Neither of them said a word, they were both either too concentrated or too afraid. They were still not used to this place, and it could hold way more than what met the eye. One could never assume they were safe, or that they knew what was going on. Just as Dwight was about to take a quick breather and wipe the sweat off his palms, Meg appeared around the corner of a pile of tires and made him jump.  
"Guys, come with me", she simply said and ventured off into the mist again.

Dwight and Claudette exchanged a questioning glance, then they left the generator buzzing to follow Meg.

"Meg, what's up?" Claudette tried asking, but Meg only shushed her and signaled for them to keep following her.

Soon they found themselves at the large garage that Dwight had found the last time they where here. There was no generator inside it this time, strange. There was, however, a couple of new cars. Or, not so new.

"I found one that might start!" Meg proclaimed, voice too eager to hide the excitement behind her words.

When neither Dwight nor Claudette looked too convinced, she pointed towards a rusty old Mercedes Benz that from the outside didn't look to be that functioning.

"It needs some hot-wiring", Meg said as they approached the car. "But I've seen my friends do it and I think I can give it a try."

Without waiting for a response from the disbelievers, she opened the door to the driver's seat and crawled in. Dwight peeked around the open door into the car and saw her lay on the floor with her hands seemingly busy tucking at cords under the steering wheel.

"You guys keep a look out for... any disturbances..." they heard her mumble, followed by an irritated grunt.

Dwight didn't know much about hot-wiring cars, but he guessed that it would be a lot easier with tools. Knowing Meg however, and remembering the fight she and Jake had earlier, the red head girl would sooner get impaled on a rusty hook than apologize to Jake and ask if she could borrow his toolbox. Where was Jake anyway? Was he out there looking for his radio tower still? Dwight met Claudette's worrying gaze, and knew that they both doubted this car would ever work again. Yet they silently stood watch as Meg struggled on, Dwight in the safe shadows of the corners and Claudette from behind the Mercedes. After a couple of minutes, Claudette suddenly seemed to tense up. She gazed into the mist, as if she'd seen something...

"Jake!"

Dwight couldn't hinder himself from calling out the dark-haired man's name, as they saw him appearing in the fog. Toolbox in one hand, he made his way into the garage to join up with Claudette behind the Mercedes. Dwight carefully took a few steps towards them as Jake looked around the place and ended up peeking into the car where Meg was still laying on the floor.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

When Meg didn't answer him, save for a few grunts, Claudette whispered to Jake:

"She's trying to get it to work."

Jake looked back at Meg, then the car, then Claudette. He looked like he was considering something, then he walked in front of the open car door and put his toolbox down on the ground beside it.

"I'll be nearby", he said to Claudette and Dwight before turning around and leaving the garage.

Dwight watched him take a turn around the corner of the building, and he was gone again. They looked down on the toolbox he had left for Meg, she hadn't picked it up.

"Meg, he left his toolbox", Claudette said carefully, but she was only answered by an annoyed grunt.

Claudette gave Dwight a quick glance, then tried again:

"Don't you think it'll be easier if you use-"

"I'm doing fine!" Meg snapped. "Just let me work in peace!"

Claudette took the hint and returned to her place to keep watch. Marveled by the redhead's stubbornness, Dwight returned to his dark corner as well. A few minutes passed, the eerie silence only interrupted by Meg's occasional grunts. Dwight started mindlessly biting his nails, while he wondered where Jake might have gone. He hoped he was okay, but they hadn't heard any sounds of the monsters yet. 

After what felt like an eternity of them listening to the quiet tinkering from the car, Claudette started to look restless. She carefully approached the car and peeked over the open front door.

"Meg, maybe we should just focus on doing generators-"

"No!" Dwight could hear Meg hiss. "I'm so close, just let me- AH!"

Her sudden scream echoed in the big garage, somehow it seemed to bounce between the cold metallic walls and almost double in decibel as it did. Dwight was sure the monsters had heard it, how could they not? Before he could think, he had hidden inside a locker that was close to him, heart beating loudly in his chest.

"What happened?" he heard Claudette ask with panic in her voice.

"I fucking got electrocuted, that's what happened!" Meg hissed, barely being able to hide the frustration mixed with panic in her own voice.

"Meg, we need to get out of here!" Claudette whispered. "The monster-"

"No! I'm so close to getting it going!"

Dwight's heart was beating so loudly he was almost certain the others could hear it from outside his locker. They needed to run, this was not a safe place. But Meg seemed determined she would get the car going any second now. What would they even do if they did get the old junk working? What if the monsters could outrun a speeding car? Dwight didn't dare exit the locker, but he opened it an inch to be able to peek out on Claudette and Meg. Would she be able to get it working before...

"Meg!"

Claudette's terrified scream was drowned by the loud, merciless ringing from a bell. It was here, the monster had found them! Dwight gasped as he witnessed the beast appearing behind Claudette, weapon ready to strike. He managed to turn away his face just in time, but the sound of weapon hitting flesh and Claudette's desperate screams made his stomach turn. As he peeked through the opening in the locker doors again, he managed to catch a last glimpse of Claudette's blood-stained pants before she was off, running away from the monster. He saw the monster running after her, and whispered as small plead that she would somehow be alright. He couldn't see Meg, was she hiding in the car? Just as he was about to sneak out from the locker and search for her, Claudette's scream echoed through the night and made his blood freeze. He swallowed hard and tried not to think of what happened to her. His insides were revolting, he felt sick. He had to find the others. As quietly as he could, he opened the locker doors and slid out. He looked around the garage, breath already shaking from anxiety and fear. Dark red blood stained the stone floor where the monster had hit Claudette, forming a trail that led out from the garage into the woods. Dwight shuddered and returned his gaze to the garage.

"Meg?" he whispered into the cold air.

A second of silence, then:

"Over here!"

Dwight watched as the red haired girl quickly climbed out from underneath a worktable with a curtain draped over it. He sighed with relief.

"We need to get out of here", he said, nervously looking behind him. "I-it could come back any moment!"

He met Meg's gaze, it was hard to detect what she was thinking. She cast a quick glance over at the Mercedes, then nodded. Relieved that she finally seemed to let the whole car-thing go, Dwight followed as she quickly sneaked out from the garage into the mist. They made sure to stay in the shadows, listening out to any sounds that could indicate danger.

"Claudette and I were working on a generator before", Dwight suddenly remembered.

To this, Meg nodded and whispered:

"We've gotta find it, lead the way."

Dwight took the lead, heart beating in his chest and the sweat forming in his armpits. Suddenly the sound of a finished generator called out behind them, and they turned around to see the faint light from behind the tree tops. They never knew exactly how many generators they needed to repair in order to escape, it always seemed to vary. As they approached the yellow school bus, Dwight sped up a bit, knowing the generator they had worked on should be around here somewhere. He suddenly stopped in his steps however, when a dark haired man came jogging around the bus. Jake came to a halt as well when he saw Dwight and Claudette, he seemed panicked and on high alert. His dark eyes were staring in fear, and he seemed out of breath. Dwight opened his mouth and was just about to ask what had happened, when Jake's gaze shifted to look at something behind them. His eyes widened, and he got ready to sprint.

"Run!" he screamed.

The loud BING-BONG-BING-BONG rang through the night, and as Dwight was about to turn around he could feel a slashing pain going across his back. He screamed as the blow made him fall onto the cold ground, almost losing his glasses. He tried to get back up but couldn't move from the pain, he was certain he was going to die right then and there. Suddenly he could feel himself being picked up. Oh gods no, the monster would carry him away, most likely to put him up on one of those horrendous meat hooks. He tried resisting and struggling as much as his body would allow him, which wasn't nearly enough to release him from the monsters grasp. He could hear it's trembling, sharp breath against his ear. It almost reeked of excitement, making him sick to his stomach. He heard another generator light up, maybe Meg and Jake had finished the one he had started? Then suddenly, before he was able to react, he felt himself being lifted up by the monster and the next second a pain beyond words exploded in his body.

Dwight didn't know how long he had hung there. Minutes? Hours? Days? His mind faded in and out of consciousness, making it hard to keep track of time. Someone was crying, was he crying? He tried opening his eyes, only for the world to start spinning in front of him. He felt sick, like he needed to puke. He was so cold, yet his face was drenched in sweat from the pain. A bitter taste of blood filled his mouth, and he tried spitting without much success. The pain had numbed his whole body, yet he could feel every inch of hurt that radiated from the hook in his back. He wanted to die, so badly. He wished for it, begging for the Entity to let it all end. Now and then he could hear strange sounds around him, but he was too out of it to recognize what they meant. Screams, roars, loud bangs, everything blurred together to a dull ringing in his ears. In the painful haze there was suddenly a warm voice. It whispered something, was it talking to him? Suddenly the weight of his body felt easier, as if he'd been lifted off the meat hook. Someone called out his name, and he could feel himself being forced to walk. No, he didn't want to...

"Dwight, come on! I've got you!"

Who was that? Dwight forced his face to lift up and he met a pair of dark, brown eyes.

"I've got you, Dwight, I'm not letting go."

It was Jake. He had come back for him. Dwight wanted to speak but could only muster a gurgling sound as he spit out some blood on his shirt. Jake took his arm and lifted it around his own neck, and supported him as much as he was able to while forcing him to walk.

"We need to get out of here, Meg did the last generator and the gates should be open", Jake said, pulling Dwight up a bit higher so the hurt man's legs wouldn't give in to his weight. 

They quickly made their way through the auto cemetery, Dwight slowing them down quite a bit though. The gaping wound in his back sent excruciating pain through his body and he felt himself almost fading from the pain.

"Hey, stay with me", he heard Jake say. "We're getting out of here alive."

In the brain fog caused by the pain, Dwight could soon see the red light from the open gate. They were out, they had made it. As soon as they reached the campfire, Dwight collapsed onto the ground near a log. Jake made him sit up against the log and started patching up his back. Dwight's consciousnesses wanted to fade a bit now and then, but he almost already felt a bit better than before. It was the will of the Entity, to let them heal quickly. Why, one could wonder.

"There, try not and move too much", Jake said as he finished wrapping Dwight up.

Now that Dwight could think a bit clearer, he looked at Jake and couldn't help but smile. He opened his mouth to start thanking him for saving him yet again, but was interrupted by Meg entering the light from the campfire. 

"Bloody hell..." she murmured as she sat down on a log and started inspecting her foot. 

"Looks like you made it out alive, huh?" Jake said, and to Dwight's surprise his voice didn't sound too happy.

Meg looked up and met Jake's gaze, and he was quiet a few seconds before muttering:

"Claudette didn't get as lucky, I suppose."

Dwight could see Meg's eyebrows lower in anger, and when she responded her voice was irritated:

"What the fuck is that suppose to-"

"It means", Jake interrupted her, voice still calm but darker, "that your little McGuyver-moment with the car got her killed."

Dwight's heart sank in his chest. So Claudette hadn't made it. Meg was not late to respond.

"Oh, really?" she scoffed. "You're really doing this, Park?"

Not this shit again, Dwight thought and cowered a bit where he sat.

"You fucked up, and she got found by the monster", Jake said. "You got so caught up in your little-"

"No!" Meg shouted, trying to stand in anger but only managing a crooked posture thanks to her hurt foot. "You don't get to accuse me of killing her, you fucking coward! I saw you, sneaking away to hide instead of helping! You only care about yourself, you fucking cunt! Don't pretend to care about what happened to her!"

"I do care about her!" Jake cut back, voice rising. "I care about her because she's a help to us, you on the other hand just complain and bicker-"

"Fuck you, Park!" Meg screamed, her face almost as red as her hair. "Fuck you, you pathetic piece of-"

She never finished the sentence, but instead took a step forward towards Jake. Dwight tensed up. Was she going to hit him? But before she had managed to limp up to him, Jake had turned away and stormed off into the forest again.

"Oh, right, run away!" Meg screamed after him. "Run away like you always do, you pussy!"

Dwight decided he did not want to stay here with Meg while she was like this, so he quickly got up from the ground and started following Jake.

"The fuck are you going?" he could hear Meg ask annoyingly, but he didn't respond.

He only quickened his pace, trying to ignore his body's protests. He didn't want to be alone, yet he was worried about following Jake. This was by far the biggest fight they had had, and they bickered quite often. Jake had looked quite upset, and Dwight was not good around upset people. Yet he had to try.

"J-Jake?" he tried, but Jake didn't respond and didn't stop.

Dwight staggered along, having some issues getting over the big stumps and rocks but doing his best in order to try and keep up. Soon he could see Jake finally stopping at a small clearing in the woods. There was nothing special in the clearing, just some moss and rocks, but the moonlight was able to shine down better here so Dwight could see Jake clearly.

"Jake?"

The taller man had stopped, but didn't turn around to face Dwight.

"L-Look, I... Meg didn't mean-"

"Go away", he heard Jake mutter, and his heart stopped for a second.

Then it sank down to his stomach, and he could feel his mouth go dry.

"J-J-Jake..."

"Go away, Dwight!" Jake said again, this time a lot colder in his voice. "You don't understand, just go."

Dwight swallowed hard. He could feel his eyes starting to burn, his face made a grimace as he tried to swallow the hurt down. Jake didn't even turn around to look at him. You don't understand. He just wanted to try and help. This was just like it always had been, him ending up getting his hopes up and then always being rejected and pushed away. From his classmates, from his dad, from Jake. Dwight swallowed again and bit his lips so hard it started to hurt. He turned around and started walking away from the clearing and Jake. Gods, he was such a loser. Jake didn't want his help, Jake didn't need him. Dwight stumbled through the woods, not even noticing he was scratching his arms so much they became sore and red. There was no way out of here. He could feel his cheeks getting wet with tears, but he didn't care. Nothing mattered anymore, not here. And they were never getting out. Suddenly, as if a new seed of emotion was planted in his heart, he felt anger. He was angry, at Meg, at Jake. They don't appreciate me. The voice in his head didn't feel like his, but it had to be. They're all fucking doomed. Dwight could feel the rage take a hold of him, and he had to stop as his breathing got quicker. He was so done with them and their bullshit. He was going to- What was he going to do? As the wind rustled the trees, he swore he could hear a faint laughter in the leaves. A malicious, cackling laughter. Were the woods always this dark? Where did the moon go? The last thing Dwight remembered before hitting the ground, was the cold air that suddenly swept around his body like a hostile embrace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Dwight, what a mess! 
> 
> Soooo, that's all the chapters I have written so far! I had chapter 1-4 already written before I started uploading this story, and I had to try and rush chapter 5 a bit so I could release it at the same time as chap 4. I'm really picky with my writing, but I'll try and get the next chapter out asap! <3


	6. No-one Left Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> " It only lasted seconds, but it was everything Dwight had ever hoped for in a first kiss. Minus the threat of death, of course."
> 
> Dwight has some weird dreams that make it even harder to continue this torture. Luckily, he still has Jake, and he's not going to lose him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm really sorry about the late chapter. I've started a new school and my writing might have to suffer a bit as I try to get used to this way of living again. But have no fear, for I do not aim to end this story any time soon! <3 Chapters might just come out a bit less frequently. Anyways, enjoy the mess that is chapter 6! I've got big plans for the next one... ;)))

Dwight slams the front door behind him as he comes home, fighting back tears behind his thick glasses. He hears his mother call out, ask if he had a good first day at high school, but he doesn't respond. He heads off to his room upstairs and lays down on his bed, burying his face into his pillow. He can hear his father mutter something from the living room, and soon he hears the careful footsteps of his mother entering his room. She asks if she can come in, and Dwight sighs heavily. 

"I-I don't understand what I'm doing wrong..." he says with a low voice, and feels the bed quake a bit as his mother sits down beside him.

"Come here, sweetie", she says, and he sits up in the bed and lets her embrace him in a warm hug.

They sit like that for a while, talking. Dwight sniffles as he tells her about the new teachers, his new classmates and the kids who already had pointed and laughed at him when he introduced himself to the class. His mother tries to comfort him, she tells him you can't make any judgments based on the first day. She says it will get better and that he'll soon find new friends. His father comes into the room, he says something about Dwight being too weak and that he has to man up. He says that a lot, but lately he seems to get more frustrated with Dwight. He says that this is exactly why Dwight gets picked on by everyone else, he's such a pussy. Dwight's mother yells at him to leave them alone and thankfully he does, without one of their usual fights starting. Then she holds Dwight closer, and they just sit together in silence. The embrace of his mother makes Dwight feel safe, even loved. The afternoon sun shines through the curtains, illuminating small dust particles silently floating in the air of the room.

The dial tone makes Dwight's heart race, and he can feel his palms getting sweaty. He really doesn't want to do this, but he has to. He has no money, and rent is due next week. The dial tone suddenly stops, and Dwight prays that it's voice mail. He doesn't want to do this.

"Hello?"

His father's voice sends chills through his body. Dwight swallows hard.

"H-Hey, Dad..."

He proceeds to ask how the father is doing, but he's met by a tired sigh.

"I don't have time for this, Dwight", he says with an irritated voice.

Dwight knows this. And he knows his father and mother have been divorced for a couple of years already. But his mother has recently gotten out from the hospital, and her therapy is very expensive and Dwight can't contribute to her bills anymore. 

"Stop calling me and get your life together, you sorry excuse of a man."

Thus, the father hangs up, and Dwight is left with a void inside of him. He knew moving town was stupid, he knew it wouldn't change a thing. He'd thought getting the job at the pizza restaurant would have helped him out economically, but then his mother got sick. Dwight throws his cellphone on the couch and swears out loudly. He's going to have to get another job.

"Fairfield, paper's are due this afternoon!"

McKenzie has that god-awful smirk on his face as he says this, as if he's taking pleasure in watching Dwight work his ass off while the others at the office are on lunch break. Dwight knows the paper's are due this afternoon, he's not stupid. Or maybe he is, offering to do Liza's work while he still has his own to finish. He was just hoping he'd fit in if he did them a few favors in the start. Now he's been here almost 6 months and the favors seem to multiply. He's so tired, but he has to finish these papers before he gets to take a break. At least he was able to quit the pizza delivery job, as his mother's gotten better and can pay for her own bills now. Dwight sighs and wipes his tired eyes behind the thick-framed glasses. The midday sun is shining through the window blinds, warming his back and reflecting on his computer monitor, making it difficult to see what he's written so far.

\---

The smell of moist dirt filled Dwight's nostrils, and he opened his eyes to find himself in darkness. The first panicked thought that went through his head, was if he had been buried alive. He quickly sat up from his lying position and was thankfully able to scratch that thought. Where was he? Wasn't it just sunny outside? He tried to stand, but bumped his head in more dirt and had to assume a more crooked position instead. He reached out around him and touched even more dirt, was he inside a tunnel? It was almost pitch black in here, yet he could feel a mild breeze coming from behind him. With careful steps as not to stumble in the dark, he started moving in the direction of the breeze while thinking about his strange dream. He rarely dreamed here, and usually it was just nightmares. This hadn't been a nightmare, it had been memories. Memories of his family, his mom and dad. Memories of his dead end job, and his traumatic first day at high school. Although the memories had not been entirely happy ones, he had felt safe within this dream. It had felt like he was back home, back in his normal life. He missed his mom, that was about the only thing he really missed. He didn't miss his coworkers, or his stressful evenings, just his mom's warm, kind voice in the other line of the phone. He wondered what she was doing right now. Had she moved on from his disappearance? Maybe she thought he had abandoned her, just like his father had. That thought caused a sharp pain in Dwight's heart, he couldn't start thinking of her right now. It didn't do any good here. Instead he focused on his surroundings, the tunnel he was trying to escape. He focused on the smells, the dead-like silence that seemed somehow even more pressing now, the... faint light that emerged far ahead of him. Finally, he was out! He quickened his pace towards the opening of the tunnel. When he got out, he noticed he was in a small wooden building, low ceiling. The walls were as rotten as everything here, and outside a small flickering lamp was attached to the opening. He had been here a couple of times before, this must be the coal mine. Or, at least it looked like it had used to be a mine a few decades ago. He heard a scream in the distance, was it Meg or Claudette? He wasn't sure, but it made his pulse quicken as he sneaked out from the building.

Dwight soon found a generator and sat down at it with a small sigh. Here we go again, he thought to himself as he started checking the carburetor. His mind didn't feel the same after being able to visit home again in his dreams, he felt tired now. Tired and restless. How much of this shit could one actually take? They all wanted to escape, but a new, horrific thought had slowly begun to plant its seed into Dwight's mind: What if they weren't suppose to get out of here? Surely they should have found a way out by now if there was one. This realization made his heart feel very heavy, he had tried to keep these kinds of thoughts away but now they seemed to make their way back with a vengeance. A loud bang from the generator woke him up from his worried thoughts.

"Shit!" he exclaimed and retracted his hands.

He'd gotten a small burst of electricity sent through him, his fingers still tingled uncomfortably and he was sweating. He must have put the wrong wires together while deep in thought. He nervously looked behind him. No monster yet, but he was not comfortable staying here alone, so he started sneaking away from the generator with slightly shaky breath. He prayed this minor fuck-up wouldn't cost him his life. Staying hidden in the shadows, he ventured on and soon he could see the big storehouse emerging in the mist. Maybe he would find the others there. He walked faster but stopped right in his tracks as he saw a big silhouette step out from behind the building's corner. Dwight was about to exhale from relief at the sight of one of the others, but something made him hold the breath. The person held something in it's hand, it glistered in the dim moonlight... A big meat cleaver. Dwight gasped and quickly turned around to run, but was stopped before he could even start fleeing. A terrible pain shot through his left leg, and he cried out in pain and surprise. He fell down on one knee, tears forming in his eyes. He looked down to see his foot trapped in a bear trap, the rusty teeth digging into his ankle. He cried and gasped for air, desperately trying to get himself free from the death grip of the metal jaws. The tears of pain got his vision blurry, but he didn't need to look behind him to know the monster was coming to get him any second now. It had heard him scream, it knew it had caught a prey in its trap. But the person suddenly running up to him wasn't the killer.

"Hold on, I'll get you out of there!" Jake said as he bent down next to Dwight and started prying open the bear trap with his hands.

"No! The m-m-monster's coming!" 

Dwight looked over his shoulder to see the big creature approach at a rapid pace. It was wearing the white mask with the horrendous grin, taunting them as it got closer and closer. With a low grunt Jake suddenly got the bear trap open and Dwight's bloody foot slid out. Jake helped him up on his feet, then placed himself between Dwight and the approaching monster.

"Run", he ordered, but Dwight didn't move an inch.

He watched in terror as the monster got up to Jake and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him up in the air so that his feet dangled several inches from the ground.

"Jake!"

"Run!" Jake grunted while struggling in the monsters grasp. "Go!"

Dwight didn't want to leave him behind, but his feet steered him away from the beast and it's prey and soon he was limping as fast as his foot would let him. He didn't look behind him, but Jake's pained screams echoed through the cold air and his heart almost broke by the sounds. He forced himself to keep going, ignoring the pain and the tears that fell down his cheeks. He ran as far and as long as he could, before finally collapsing behind a silent generator. He wiped the sweat away from his forehead, trying to quiet the sobs as best as he could. A quick glance down on the hurt foot told him he wouldn't be running anywhere anymore before he could get it patched up a bit. It was a bloody mess. A small piece of bone could be spotted sticking out from the bloodstained flesh, the sight made Dwight's vision blur so he quickly looked away and tried taking deep breaths. He had to find one of the others. Jake shouldn't have done this, he should have left him in the trap. And besides, wasn't he mad at Dwight? Why save him then?

Dwight sat at the generator for a while, trying to breathe the pain away and staying alert at the same time in case the monster showed up for him. Maybe it could smell blood, who knew. He knew he needed to find the others, but he just couldn't muster up anymore strength to move. His problem was quickly solved however, when he could hear whispering voices approach him.

"Here's one, Meg, come on!"

It was Claudette's voice. Dwight peeked out from behind the generator and gazed up in Claudette's shocked face.

"Jesus, Dwight, you scared me!" she said with a hand on her chest, then she noticed he was hurt. "Hold on, let me take a look at that!"

She bent down next to him and took one look at the foot, then made a displeased face and said:

"Shit... H-Here, I'll use my shirt to try and stop the bleeding a bit."

She took of her red shirt and started wrapping Dwight's foot. Dwight was about to be embarrassed, but she wore a black tank top underneath. Meg started working on the generator behind them, and as soon as Claudette had wrapped the foot as best as she could, she joined in. Dwight, however, was left sitting where he sat.

"D-Did you guys see what happened to Jake?" he asked.

Claudette gave him a quick look, but Meg answered without taking her eyes off the generator.

"Got himself hooked."

No trace of empathy in her voice. Dwight felt the anger rise in him, and when Claudette spoke it didn't help.

"Dwight, we need to work on generators, we need to get out of here! All of us! We'll get Jake later."

No. Dwight wasn't going to leave Jake behind, he'd never do that to him.

"Where'd the monster take him?" he asked, trying to hide the fear in his voice as best as he could.

To this, both Claudette and Meg looked up from the generator to stare at him. He was the chicken after all, they didn't expect him to be the one doing the saving. Dwight didn't expect this either, but he was somehow able to push most of the fear aside now.  
He had to help Jake.

"The basement of the storehouse", Claudette said, and then started to add: "B-But Dwight, we have to..."

But Dwight had already started limping towards the storehouse. He prayed Jake was alright, that the monster had kept him alive and not slaughtered him instantly. Although, if it had indeed taken him to the basement, chances were big that Jake hung on a meat hook right this moment. Dwight shuddered at the thought of Jake going through that torment, and quickened his pace a bit. Soon he found himself at the storehouse's entry, and he started sneaking slowly, keeping an eye open for any more bear traps. He wasn't sure where the basement was here, but he hurried while searching the place as to not let Jake suffer any longer than necessary, all while staying alert in case the monster showed up. Suddenly he spotted a spot of blood on the concrete floor, and then another one. He followed the ominous trail to a thick metal door, took a deep breath and pushed the heavy door open. Stairs, barely visible in the dark. Guess he'd found the basement. With one last glance behind him, Dwight took another deep breath to try and slow his pounding heart and started walking down the stairs. The old wooden steps creaked under his feet as he descended deeper into the building, and soon he could see a very faint light at the bottom. He could also hear small whimpers and grunts, and he quickened his pace until his feet almost leaped over the last few steps. There Jake was, dangling from one of the meat hooks. Dwight ran up to him and called out his name. Jake lifted his head and focused his gaze.

"D-Dwight...?"

"I'm getting you out of here, Jake", Dwight said as reassuringly as he could. "Hold on."

"D-Don't", Jake grunted and paused for a second, flinching in pain. "Leave."

Dwight cast a glance at the pointy hook sticking out from his shoulder, the blood covering the wound glistering in the dim light. He'd never taken anyone down from one of these torture tools, but he was not going to leave Jake behind. He put his hands underneath the other man's armpits and started lifting with every inch of strength in his body. He could feel Jake's body lift and continued pushing him upwards until he could feel him getting off the hook. The sudden weight of Jake's body falling into his almost made him fall over, but he forced himself to stay upright while supporting Jake.

"T-Think you can stand?" he asked, and the other man grunted in pain but nodded.

Dwight couldn't stand seeing him in this much pain, but he had to rush him out of here as quickly as possible. The basement was dark and cold, dimly lit by a flickering red light bulb dangling from the ceiling. Having the whole room drenched in a blood red light made it one of the worst sights Dwight had ever seen, but something else contributed to the uneasy feeling here. The feeling of being down here was unlike any other, more terrifying than any other place here. It was like there was a feeling, a ghost or spirit lingering here, making the walls creak in an almost unnatural fashion. The silence here was crushing, interrupted by strange, low growls like the room itself was breathing, living. Like it was feeding on the pain and fear felt here. Not wanting to spend another second in this room, Dwight put Jake's arm around his own neck and started walking towards the stairs.

"We need to move quickly, the monster might come back", he said, trying to hide the fact that he was quite out of breath already.

Jake was a well built guy, while Dwight was a skinny wreck, and helping him move proved to be quite exhausting. But they managed to get out of the basement and while on the ground floor again, Dwight could feel Jake already regaining some strength in his body. They walked for a bit, not running into any monster but not seeing Claudette or Meg either for that matter. Dwight hadn't heard any sound of a completed generator, and was starting to worry a bit. When Jake suddenly made a pained grunt by his side, he decided they might as well rest a bit and led them behind an old shack where they sat down.

"How are you holding up?" Dwight asked while studying Jake.

Jake flinched a bit while settling in where he sat.

"Better", he responded. "T-Thanks, for coming back for me."

Dwight gave him a small smile and peeked around the corner of the shack to see if any monster was coming. Nothing, yet.

"Hey."

Jake carefully nudged his side and he turned around again to meet the brown eyes. 

"I wanted to apologize", Jake said. "I shouldn't have said that you didn't understand and just push you away like that earlier. It was... I was just so angry. It was shitty of me, though. I'm sorry."

Dwight could feel his face warming up, but forced himself not to look away. He blinked nervously and let out a small chuckle.

"I-It's okay. Really", he said and Jake shook his head with an amused smile.

"It's not, but... Thanks", he said.

They met each others gaze. Dwight could feel his insides melting by that smile and those warm, brown eyes. A feeling struck him, a feeling he had thought about earlier. He felt safe, looking into those eyes. As safe as his mother had made him feel once. He wanted to make sure Jake knew all was forgiven, he wanted to... The sudden snap from a trap made them both wake up from their staring contest, and Jake grabbed Dwight's hand.

"What do you say we get out of here?" he said with a smirk, and they got up from the ground and started walking away from the shed.

Dwight still helped Jake to walk by supporting him with his arm, and it felt good being able to help Jake after all that he'd done for him. All the anger and resentment he'd felt back at the camp was blown away and now he wanted nothing more than to escape with Jake by his side.

"Hey, look!"

Dwight looked towards where Jake was pointing, but didn't see anything besides the scattered dark trees. His heart calmed down a bit after thinking Jake had seen the monster, and he looked at the dark-haired man.

"What?"

Jake didn't answer, but dragged Dwight along until they stood only inches away from what had made Jake point in excitement. The metal door of the hatch could be seen in the dark dirt. Dwight's excitement over the sight soon faded however, as he realized they didn't have any key to open it with. That was usually needed. But Jake limped over to the metal door and tried it anyways. Or, he tried lifting the hatch open but immediately screamed in pain and fell down on the ground.

"F-Fuck, the wound still hurts too much..." he gasped and Dwight rushed over to him to see if he was alright.

"Y-You try it", Jake grunted and scooted away a bit to make room for Dwight.

Dwight was about to mention the lack of any key, but decided trying couldn't hurt. He grabbed a hold of the handle on top of the hatch and started tugging. To his immense surprise, it started to grate.

"It's open!" he announced with surprise in his voice.

He could hear Jake moving where he sat.

"Claudette and Meg must have found it and unlocked it", he said while scooting closer to Dwight. "Can you open it?"

"I can try", Dwight said and took a new, stronger hold onto the rusty handle.

He started pulling but only managed to lift the hatch a few inches before it fell back down with a loud THUD. Dwight wiped his sweaty palms on his thighs and tried again, this time managing a few inches more.

"H-How can this thing be so heavy?" he muttered, frustrated that he was looking so weak in front of Jake.

A sudden gasp from the other man made him look up to see a tall, dark figure make it's way through the mist a few meters ahead of them. It had to be the monster, but it didn't appear to be walking straight towards them which made Dwight think they had been unnoticed so far.

"H-Has it seen us?" he whispered without taking his eyes of the beast.

"I don't think so", Jake said. "But we need to hurry."

Dwight's grip around the handle tightened again, and this time when he pulled he could feel the hatch giving in. He lifted until he was able to put a knee in between the opening of the hatch, then he took a new grip with both his hands and shoved it open completely.

"Shit, shit, shit..."

Jake's nervous voice made him look up again. The monster had spotted them and was walking towards them, fast.

"Come on!" Dwight said and started climbing down the dark hole of the hatch.

Jake crawled to the ledge of the hole and waited for Dwight to help him. They were face to face, Dwight halfway down the hole, and as the nervous man took the hand of the dark-haired, he could feel a pair of warm lips on his. Stunned by the impulsive move from Jake, Dwight almost lost his grip on the ladder he was standing on. It only lasted seconds, but it was everything Dwight had ever hoped for in a first kiss. Minus the threat of death, of course. When Jake pulled away, Dwight could feel his face burning and he coughed sheepishly as he met Jake's smiling eyes.

"For luck", the other man said with a smirk, and then proceeded to climb down the hatch with the help of Dwight still holding his hand.

As they were both on the ladder, Jake quickly closed the hatch behind them to shield them from the monster, and the darkness consumed them both.

"Let's get going, shall we?" Dwight could hear Jake say, and they climbed down from the ladder to reach the cold ground.

They then proceeded to walk in silence in the tunnel leading them to their campsite, Dwight's heart beating like crazy, finally from something else than terror.


	7. Keep Me Warm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They need each other's comfort, and a small sleeping bag has never stopped anyone looking for closeness.

They met Claudette and Meg back at the campfire, both not too badly beaten. They had found the hatch just minutes before Jake and Dwight, and everyone was happy and relieved about escaping this time. Dwight got even more relieved when Jake and Meg apologized to each other for the fights, and Meg even threw a slight smile Jake's way. It was highly unlike her, but then again people could surprise you. Like Jake kissing him earlier, Dwight thought while they sat down at the logs to take care of each others wounds. He could feel his face warm up, and tried avoiding Jake's gaze as he and Claudette bandaged his shoulder where the hook had pierced him. He was so nervous now, more nervous than he'd ever been around Jake. He didn't know if Jake wanted to talk about their kiss, so he decided not to mention it as Claudette left them alone on their log to tend to Meg's nose bleed. As soon as Claudette and Meg had gotten into a conversation however, Jake looked over at Dwight and gave him a friendly push in the side.

"You okay?" he said.

Dwight licked his lips nervously and glanced over at Jake, feeling his ears burning.

"Y-Y-Yeah, I think so", he said with a slight chuckle, and the quiet man tilted his head a bit.

"I really hope I didn't... um, do anything wrong earlier..." he started, but Dwight interrupted him a bit too loudly, causing Claudette and Meg to look over for a second.

"N-No! Not at all, I-I... I..."

He swallowed and forced himself to meet Jake's gaze, wondering how in the world he would tell Jake he enjoyed the kiss without sounding too dorky.

"I..." he began, then deciding he couldn't stop himself from sounding dorky and continuing: "It was... h-highly unexpected, but I really liked it."

After this he couldn't look at Jake, so he forced his gaze down onto his shoes while his face was burning with the heat of a thousand suns. He heard Jake chuckle slightly, and his stomach became as warm as his face. Jesus, he really liked this guy, huh?

"I'm glad", Jake said. "I liked it too."

Then he did something Dwight hadn't expected, he took his hand. Dwight blinked in surprise and looked down on their entwined hands.

"You're a cool dude, Dwight", Jake said and Dwight looked at him with a faint smile.

"I-I'm not, trust me", he said. "I fuck stuff up all the time a-and I'm not really good at anything besides being a pain in the ass on people."

Jake studied him with his gaze without saying anything, and Dwight felt welcomed to open up a bit, something he felt he might need now.

"At home I... Well I work this boring office job and I suck at everything there. I try and try but the others there are just assholes towards me, and I don't even know why. It's just been that way my whole life I suppose."

He sighed and started scratching at his arm with his free hand, but Jake took his other hand and stopped him abruptly.

"See, I don't think that's entirely true", he said. "I don't think you suck at everything, I know you don't. And I've only known you for, what, a couple of weeks?"

Dwight met his gaze, it was as warm and comforting as ever and it made him feel alright.

"Thanks, but..." he begun, but Jake cut him off.

"My dad has told me I'm a disappointment almost every day of my whole life. Sometimes directly to my face, sometimes indirectly."

"Shit, I'm so sorry..."

Jake shook his head with an amused smile.

"Don't be, I don't let it get to me anymore. You, on the other hand, need to stop being so hard on yourself. It only gives people the more reason to trample all over you. And you don't deserve that kind of crap, you don't."

He squeezed Dwight's hand and Dwight could only look upon him and marvel how anyone this kind could ever have crossed his path. It was quite ironic actually, being stuck in the worst scenario possible, with the best person imaginable. They sat together on the lodge for quite some time, talking about their everyday lives before all this. This was the most Dwight had ever heard Jake talk about himself before. He learned that he'd been living alone in a trailer in the woods, and somehow this information didn't come as a shock to Dwight. The quiet man didn't seem like someone who lived in the city. Jake asked about Dwight's life, and Dwight told him about his mother and father separating, his struggle with two works at the same time and...

"...and then I decided I'd go on the stupid weekend-get-away thing, b-but it wasn't... I can't really remember what happened, b-but when I awoke I was in this dreadful forest."

Dwight decided to keep out the details of how the boss had made him drink his disgusting moonshine, and how they all had made fun of him for almost puking from the taste but forcing him to keep drinking. Luckily Jake didn't ask for more details, he only embraced Dwight in a warm hug that radiated understanding and empathy. Claudette and Meg had gone to sleep in their tent, and Dwight was starting to feel a bit dozy himself. When he tried to suffocate a yawn but failed, Jake laughed.

"Maybe it's time to tuck in, no use fighting the inevitable after all", he said, and Dwight nodded with a sigh.

"I wish we didn't have to wake up at this horrible place."

Jake was quiet for a few seconds, and Dwight could feel that he wanted to say something but was considering it.

"If..." he started, and Dwight looked over at him. 

He bit his lower lip and looked uncertain.

"What?" Dwight asked.

"I was gonna say, that if waking up here sucks, going to sleep alone sucks even more."

Dwight couldn't stop the burst of laughter escaping him, and Jake looked amused.

"But", he continued, "now I didn't say that, and you don't have to look at me and think about what shitty pickup lines I come up with."

"Oh, sure thing", Dwight chuckled, feeling his face heat up once more.

Then he gave Jake a shy smile and added:

"It wasn't the worst pickup line ever, I liked it."

Jake chuckled and scratched his neck.

"Well, I thought about dragging my sleeping bag out here to the campfire. I usually sleep in the woods but it tends to get pretty cold so... If you feel like joining, you're very welcome to."

"That'd be v-very nice, thanks", Dwight smiled. "It gets real dark and lonely in the tent."

After they'd gotten their sleeping bags, they placed them down next to the campfire and crawled into them. It was nice, Dwight thought, laying here watching the campfire and listening to the cackling of the flames. It almost felt like they were normal people, on a normal hike somewhere in some forest that didn't want them dead.

"Do you think we'll die here, Jake? For good?"

He hadn't meant to say that, it had just slipped out of him. It was on his mind so often, it was hard to keep it to himself. Jake didn't seem too bothered though. He scooted closer to Dwight, so they were only inches apart, and took his hand. Dwight waited for his reply, but he only brought his hand close to his mouth for a small kiss. It helped, a bit, and Dwight was able to toss the gloomy thoughts aside.

"I-I still don't get what you find so interesting about me", he said, as if he had to excuse himself somehow. "Y-You're so cool and collected and-and intelligent and... I just don't get it."

Jake laid on his side, facing Dwight, and shifted up a bit so he could support himself on one arm.

"Wouldn't say I'm that cool, but alright", he smiled, then studied Dwight for a few seconds before continuing. "You're not like anyone else I've met. You're brave in a way that most people don't recognize, you're smart... and really attractive."

Dwight laughed nervously, he wasn't really capable of anything else right now. He wanted to speak but his tongue seemed stuck in his mouth. His insides were having a rave and his heart was pumping blood into his body like he was ready to fight. He hadn't really felt like this ever before, and more importantly he'd never been with anyone he'd felt attracted to before. Sure he'd had his fare share of high school crushes, but they'd never been anything more than fantasies and he'd never thought he'd ever be this close to someone he liked, and that person liking him back. Fuck, he felt like a teenager again. This was so absurd and silly. He wanted to kiss Jake, but he didn't really know how to initiate it.

"I-I-I want to... I really want kiss you, b-but I don't really know how to... how to, oh fuck..."

He was rambling. He had to do something, quick. Without thinking, he pressed his lips against Jake's, but in his nervousness it ended up being more of a face smash.

"Shit, fuck, sorry!" he exclaimed and pulled away.

Jake gave him a heartfelt smile however, and leaned in closer again.

"Here, let me try."

His warm lips once again met Dwight's, and this time it was slow and steady, just like before in the monster's place. This time, Dwight could even feel a bit more intensity, and he even dared try and kiss back. When Jake felt him returning the kiss eagerly, his lips got a bit more hungry. As much as Dwight loved this, he soon had to retract his lips because he got out of breath.

"You okay?" Jake asked, and he nodded, unable to hold back a big grin.

"I'm great, I-I just need a breather!"

Jake smiled and said:

"Well, I'd like to get back to the business at hand whenever you're ready."

"Not my fault I'm not exactly a pro at this", Dwight chuckled.

To this, Jake raised his eyebrows in a questioning manner.

"And who says I am?"

"Oh", Dwight said. "I-I just kind of assumed..."

Jake shook his head with an amused smile.

"A few high school crushes, nothing serious. Never really been that interested. Dad wanted me to focus on my studies instead."

They looked at each other for a couple of seconds, the thrilling tension between them almost visible. Then Jake bit his lip and said:

"So... shall we return to the matter at hand?"

Dwight laughed and eagerly pressed his lips against Jake's again, and this time their teeth didn't smash together. They kissed intensely for a few minutes, and then Dwight wanted to try with a bit more tongue. Jake responded with a surprised, yet satisfied hum when their tongues met, and they continued even more fiercely than before. The blood was rushing through Dwight's body, he felt like he was high on some wonderful drug. The hard boner was a fact at this point, he was a bit embarrassed and tried not to nudge into Jake too much. But he didn't want to hold back either, he wanted Jake to know he really enjoyed this. Conflicted between holding back and letting go, he accidentally pressed a bit up against Jake, causing his boner to rub against the other man's crotch. He couldn't hinder the small grunt of pleasure rushing from his throat, and to his horror Jake stopped kissing him. Jake's lips were red and swollen, a sight that made Dwight even harder. Yet he met the other man's gaze with terror and started mumbling:

"I-I-I'm so sorry, shit..."

But before he could start rambling, Jake attached himself back at his lips, now even more hungry in his kissing. This time Dwight felt the unmistakable bulge in Jake's pants as well when the other man pressed up against him. It was hard and warm even through the sleeping bags. Though they were both almost halfway out of their sleeping bags at this point, their kissing so intense they both were huffing in pleasure. Dwight let his hands run up to play with Jake's soft hair, and Jake returned the favor. Then they paused to look at each other, and Jake whispered:

"Do you... want to, eh, go further?"

Dwight nodded, catching his breath.

"Yeah, I want to. You think I can... get into your sleeping bag?"

He laughed and added:

"D-Do you think I can fit?"

Jake chuckled and scooted over in his sleeping bag to make room for Dwight.

"Get in here", he said and Dwight quickly crawled out from his own and into Jake's.

As he slid down next to Jake, his whole body trembled with excitement. Jake caught him in his arms as soon as he was settled in, and they continued making out. The sleeping bag was small, but it didn't bother Dwight at all. He enjoyed being this near Jake, he loved feeling his body warmth. He could now clearly feel Jake's boner up against his, and it egged him on so much it was crazy. Suddenly he could feel Jake's hands sliding to his torso, and starting to unbutton his office shirt. He was surprised over how warm his hands were, considering the chilly air. When Jake was done with his shirt, his hands started caressing over Dwight's now bare torso. His touch made Dwight shiver in delight, and his kisses deepened even more. He opened up Jake's jacket as well and reached under his shirt.

"You're so warm", Dwight whispered.

"Can't say the same about you, sadly", Jake smiled. "But don't worry, I'll warm you up."

He reached down and started kissing Dwight's chest, and Dwight sighed in pleasure from the touch of his lips. As the kisses got focused on his nipples, he could feel the hairs of his neck stand.

"Does that feel good?" he could hear Jake whisper, and he nodded.

"Y-Yeah, real nice..."

Then he could feel Jake's hand sliding down towards his crotch, and as his hand gently stroked his hard boner, Dwight gasped and let out a small moan.

"How about that?"

"Y-Y-Yes..." Dwight sighed and closed his eyes as Jake started caressing his crotch.

God, it felt amazing. He was about to come just from this, but he managed to hold back. 

"I really like you, Dwight, I mean that", Jake said, and Dwight opened his eyes to meet those brown ones.

"I like you too, s-so much", he sighed and kissed Jake.

He could feel Jake unbuckling his belt, and his heart started racing. What if Jake thought he had a small dick? What if he came too fast and Jake became disappointed? As if Jake could sense him thinking this, he paused and whispered:

"It's okay, just relax. And tell me to stop if I go too fast, okay?"

Dwight's boner was almost aching at this point, he wanted nothing more than for Jake to touch him. He nodded and moaned quietly when he could feel Jake's warm hand reaching into his boxers and grabbing his dick. As he started stroking lightly, Dwight started seeing stars.

"G-God... Oh, fuck..."

It felt so good. He closed his eyes and could feel he was about to come already. He hadn't pleasured himself in ages, especially not since he ended up here.

"Does that feel good?" he could hear Jake hum.

"Yes, f-fuck it feels amazing!" he moaned, and Jake started kissing him passionately.

"You're so fucking beautiful..." he whispered between kisses, and then he picked up the pace on his stroking.

They were so close, almost merging together. Both breathing so fast, Dwight huffing and grunting in pleasure. He couldn't hold back anymore. With a short, loud moan he came in Jake's hand, quite a lot. Jake held him close and kissed him as he caught his breath, body trembling like he'd just been electrocuted. They had almost drenched the sleeping bag with their sweat, and the heavenly smell of sweaty Jake made it even harder for Dwight to return from the orgasm. When he finally had regained some of his senses, he looked down on the mess he had made on Jake.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed, still panting. "I'm so sorry, shit!"

But Jake just laughed and wiped his hand on his pants.

"Hey, it's okay. All the blood is always gone from our clothes when we wake up, so why not other fluids as well?"

Dwight chuckled at his comment but still felt a bit embarrassed, but Jake soon steered his thoughts towards something else.

"So, do you want to... touch me?"

His gaze was deep and his lips a bit parted, still wet from the kissing. Dwight wanted nothing more than to please him, but he was scared.

"What if I... D-Do something wrong?" he asked while nervously sucking his lower lip. "What if I c-can't..."

"Hey", Jake said calmly. "If you don't want to that's totally fine."

"No, I want to!" Dwight said, his voice almost sounding a bit pleading. "I want to, Jake, I just..."

Jake interrupted him with an intense kiss, making him almost forget all his worries. Then he looked at Dwight, with a reassuring smile and said:

"I'll show you."

Those words ignited something in Dwight, and to his surprise he could feel himself getting hard again. Jake took his hand and slowly led it down to his own belt, and Dwight only fumbled a little when opening the buckle. He took a deep breath, not breaking eye contact with Jake, and slowly slid his hand down the other man's pants. The second his fingers touched Jake's hard-on on the outside of the boxers, the brown-eyed man let out a sigh of pleasure and locked lips with him again. They made out while Dwight stroked Jake's bulge, Jake making the most beautiful grunts of pleasure deep down in his throat. Then he took Dwight's hand and put it inside his boxers, around his hard dick. They paused their kissing and Dwight looked down on their hands as Jake showed him the pace and grip he wanted. Dwight soon caught on, and when he got the right pace Jake started moaning quietly.

"Just like that... F-Fuck..."

It was like music to Dwight's ears. Jake had closed his eyes and Dwight just gazed upon how beautiful he was, face slightly twisted in pleasure and lips parted to let out small moans and grunts. Dwight wanted to touch himself as well, so he slid his free hand down to his already hard dick and started stroking it. It was quite tricky managing two dicks while in this ecstasy state, but soon they were both nearing and Dwight picked up the pace until he came a second time. He kept going on Jake, and they kissed like two hungry beasts until Jake also came with a sharp, loud grunt. They were left panting and laughing, looking at each other and feeling more alive than they'd felt in weeks.

"T-That was... amazing", Jake panted, kissing Dwight a few times on the lips and cheeks.

Dwight could only nod with a big grin, he was so out of it after coming a second time. They snuggled up in each other's arms and soon their breathing had returned to normal, their eyes once again getting heavy with sleep. Dwight fell asleep counting Jake's eyelashes and wondering what on Earth he had to do to stay with this man for all his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boiiiiiiiiiiiii I was so worried this would turn out like shit BUT I'm pleasantly surprised I must say. I rarely write smut and when I do I kinda just skip to the best part and/or give up halfway so this can be seen as an improvement if nothing else lmao! I'm falling in love with these bois more and more, I want them to be happy but uhhh ;___; But yeah, I really hope you liked this one, let me know what you think <3 ;* 
> 
> And yes, sleeping bags can fit two people jacking each other off, fight me!! >:)


	8. We'll Make It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Always Sunny In DBD: The Gang Witnesses a Mori! 
> 
> Jake and Dwight find themselves in a new trial, and they think this is going to go the same way it always does. But when Jake notices something odd about the monster, they soon realize that the Entity might have something new planned for them. Something very different...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *moves cobwebs aside* What's this place? Lmao jkjk but in all seriousness, look who's finally back!! DAMN did this chapter take a while to conjure up! I'm so sorry for all of you that have been waiting for a new chapter, I've been really busy with life and mental health stuff. And I've got the end chapters planned out already but somehow THIS chapter took me ages to get to anything I was even remotely okay with posting. I dunno, this was a weird chapter. BUT I do hope I didn't let you down too much with this mess, I'll be back soon with the final two chapters! <3 Happy new year y'all! :3

Dwight heard someone calling his name. He could feel himself laying on the hard, cold ground. It was merciless against his poor back, it felt like he'd been laying here for ages. He had to get up. Forcing his eyes open, they met a pair of deep brown ones that made his heart flutter instantly.

"Finally, I was starting to worry", he could hear the voice call out with a hint of relief.

"Jake..." Dwight mumbled and got up from the ground, flinching a bit at the pain from his sore back. "Was I out long?"

"Well, I woke up and started looking for you and it sure took me a while", Jake said while Dwight adjusted his glasses. "I was worried, I thought that... something bad had happened to you."

Dwight met his gaze and felt himself blushing. The thought of Jake worrying about him was a really warming one, and also one he couldn't get used to. This was the first time someone expressed any worry or care about him in ages, it all felt so unreal. Dwight threw a quick glance at his surroundings. They were in the woods near the cornfield, or so it seemed. No sound of danger, yet.

"I... I really enjoyed last night", Jake suddenly said, gaining back the nervous man's attention immediately. 

He changed his stance where he stood, eyeing Dwight carefully. Dwight's thoughts immediately rushed back to last night. He could feel his knees weaken a bit at the memory of embracing Jake in the sweaty sleeping bag and looking into those deep brown eyes as they touched each other. He could still hear Jake's beautiful moans in his head, and quickly had to force himself to return to here and now as he could feel his dick hardening. He cleared his throat and changed stance as well, looking down on his shoes trying to formulate words in his embarrassment.

"Yeah, I... r-really liked it too!" 

He looked up at Jake, wondering if he should tell him about the other thing that was racing through his head as well. But he could already hear the words coming out of his mouth.

"I didn't... I wasn't sure if you'd actually w-want to..."

Jake's eyebrows burrowed slightly in confusion.

"If I'd want to what?"

"...t-talk to me again."

The second the words left his lips, Dwight could feel his face flinching at the embarrassment dwelling up inside of him. He looked back down on his shoes, mindlessly scratching his hands. Gods, he sounded dumb. Really dumb. Jake had touched his dick last night for crying out loud, and here he was worrying about whether or not the other man wanted to be around him? It all just felt too good to actually be true. It felt like it had to be some kind of misunderstanding, no one had ever wanted to be around Dwight and maybe Jake had changed his mind. Maybe he regretted last night. Maybe-

"Dwight, please look at me."

The seriousness in his voice made Dwight look up, swallowing nervously and waiting for whatever Jake had to say next.

"After last night..." Jake began, taking Dwight's hands in his. "I've never felt like this before. I know how cliché it sounds and a few weeks back I would have never thought I'd feel like this, or talk like this. But it's real, it's the most real thing I've  
ever felt. I-I want to get out of here, with you. I want to be with you, Dwight."

Dwight was paralyzed, staring at Jake without even blinking. He tried to take in what he just had heard, but boy was it hard.

"Gosh, I sound so stupid", Jake said and let out a small chuckle. "I'm sorry if I'm coming on too strong, I-I just didn't know how else to... I've never had to think about how to say these things to anyone before."

He watched Dwight carefully, as if to see what reaction he would get. Dwight was still thinking about what Jake had said, now starting to realize what the words really meant. His mind wanted him to worry, to be afraid that somehow this was all just a big misunderstanding. But as he met the pair of brown eyes, his insides melted once again and his heart swelled with affection. Before wasting another second, Dwight threw himself into Jake's arms and they got caught up in a tight embrace, holding each other so close they could almost merge on the spot.

"I want to be with you, too", Dwight breathed into Jake's hair, receiving an even tighter hug from the other. "Every day, away from here."

Jake released him and cupped his face in his hands.

"We're getting out of here one way or another, I promise", he said, then leaned in for a kiss.

Dwight eagerly responded, and their lips locked tightly. Jake's lips were a bit colder than last night, but they felt just as good and tasted amazing. Dwight wanted them to stay like this for a long time, but they had to focus on survival now. A bit reluctantly,  
he pulled away from Jake.

"We should-"

"I know", Jake sighed, gave Dwight's forehead a last, quick kiss and then took his hand. "Suppose we venture into the corn?"

"Suppose so."

And into the corn they went. Dwight despised the cornfields. The air was weird and musky here and steam seemed to rise from the very soil, filling the air with a stench that was indescribable but gut-wrenching. Once they had found what had seemed to be the  
remains of a decomposing body, half-buried in the dirt. Claudette had puked from the shock. What was even worse, was that this realm always seemed to be occupied by the chainsaw-wielding monster. They hadn't heard the chainsaw yet however, and Dwight managed to muster up an inch of hope in his heart that maybe they were lucky this time.

They hadn't been walking in the cornfields for long, before they stumbled upon a rusted old generator located between the rows. It looked alot older than the ones they usually found.

"You think this one is fixable?" Jake asked.

"Don't know", Dwight pondered. "I suppose there's no harm in trying."

But they barely managed to sit down by the generator, as Jake noticed something.

"Fuck, the entire set of wires is missing on this side!"

He scratched his head and Dwight burrowed his brows a bit.

"That's never happened before", he pointed out, and Jake sighed.

"I think I might have some spare parts in my toolbox, but that doesn't help much now since I didn't bring it... Goddamnit."

They got up and were about to move along, when Dwight suddenly hushed.

"Hear that?" he whispered.

Jake looked confused, but Dwight quickly pulled him into the corn and made him crouch. A few seconds of silence went by, and then the rows of corn started rustling in the distance. Dwight held his breath as they saw the masked monster appear behind the generator, and as it stopped in its steps he could feel Jake tensing up beside him. Had it seen them? In that case they'd better start running, but if it hadn't yet seen them they'd give away their position by panicking. A sudden wind came through, making the corn rustle in a ghost-like manner. They watched as the monster tensed up, and Dwight could swear it almost seemed like it listened to the wind. Then it suddenly turned around, and with almost eager footsteps it disappeared into the corn again. A couple of seconds went by as neither of the men hiding in the corn made any sound, nor movement. Then, when Dwight was sure he couldn't hear anymore movement in the corn, he looked at Jake and whispered:

"W-What was that about? Did you see that?"

Jake just stared in front of him, at the place where the monster had disappeared.

"I-I... Did you see it?" he asked, and Dwight was unsure what he meant, but then he continued. "I could swear I saw... I could swear it listened to the wind and then... grinned."

Dwight could feel his pulse quickening. He wet his lips nervously.

"Grinned?"

Jake looked at him. His gaze showed signs of terror.

"I don't know how it could... Fuck, Dwight, something's up here. Something's not right."

He looked back at the generator, and then he took Dwight's hand.

"We need to find a way to leave. Right now."

They got up from the ground and started sneaking away from the generator, Jake in the lead. Dwight hadn't seen any grin on the monster's face, how could he? It wore a mask, who knew if it even had a face behind it? But Jake seemed visibly tense now, in a way that Dwight hadn't seen him before. He was right, though. Something seemed to have changed. Even the rustling corn seemed more hostile than before.

"Shit!" Jake suddenly exclaimed, and forced Dwight to a sudden halt as he stopped to look down on the ground.

A metallic grin smiled up at them from the dirt, a bear trap. Taunting them with how close Jake had come to getting a bloody stump for a foot.

"Fuck, close one..." Dwight whispered.

They walked around the trap and continued on their way, a bit more careful where they stepped now. Dwight could feel his heart beating in his chest, not an unusual feeling here of course but one that felt even more painful now. There was something going on. They had never seen the masked monster here before, and if the way it had behaved was enough to make Jake afraid, then it couldn't be good. They hurried along the cornrows, and soon enough the stalks scattered and they found themselves out on the front yard of the old house that usually stood here. Jake gestured for them to venture inside it, so they did. The moldy walls let off a stench that reminded of a corpse, and Dwight had to keep himself from gagging from the smell.

"Jake! Dwight!"

They turned around and saw Claudette peeking out from behind a couch.

"Claudette, are you okay?" Dwight asked, and Claudette nodded but her eyes were wide open in fear.

"Meg... S-She distracted the monster, it chased her away from here..."

"We didn't see her, I'm sorry", Jake said. 

"The generator", Claudette said, pointing upstairs. "It lacked wires."

"So did the one we found", Jake muttered, and Dwight could see Claudette's gaze becoming blank.

"T-That doesn't make any sense..." she whispered. "How are we supposed to escape?"

They were all silent for a good minute, before Jake spoke a sentence that sent chills down Dwight's spine.

"Maybe we're not supposed to escape this time."

Dwight and Claudette stared at him. Dwight wanted to say something, tell him that he was wrong to say that. But no words came from his mouth. Claudette sat down at the rotten couch with a sigh, and Jake was just about to lean up against one of the walls, when they heard a scream echo through the night.

"Meg!" Claudette yelled out, and before anyone could stop her, she was out of the couch.

"Claudette, wait!"

Dwight ran after her as she hurried out from the house, but as they got out on the front yard they both stopped in their tracks. Meg was running towards them, limping on one leg and chased by the masked monster.

"Help me!" she screamed, holding her side where the blood was gushing from.

Dwight was about to turn on his heels and run, but a sudden shout from Jake made him look behind him instead.

"Meg, duck!"

A rock came flying, nearly missing Dwight's head. It hit the monster right in the mask, receiving a loud grunt from the beast. Jake threw another one, this one missing it's target but his mission had seemed successful. The monster had stopped in its tracks, giving Meg time to limp away towards the house. The only problem was that now the monster wanted Jake instead. As it came storming towards them, Jake cast a glance over at Dwight and said:

"Try and tackle it somehow!"

Then he jumped forward just as the monster swung it's big meat cleaver towards him, it's blade hitting the ground just inches from where Jake had stood. Dwight jumped away as well, not wanting to be anywhere near that shiny blade. Tackle it? How in the world was he supposed to-

"Now!" Meg suddenly screamed, jumping out from nowhere to grab the monster's leg just as it was about to swing at Jake.

Dwight wasn't ready, he couldn't have known that Meg would make the move to actually attack. It seemed like a useless idea. Now the monster, still on it's feet, kicked Meg away from it's leg and instantly hit her over the face with it's blade.

"Meg!" Dwight heard Claudette cry out, but he himself could do nothing other than stare at what the beast did next.

With his heart beating in terror, he saw how the beast stepped on Meg's back to keep her down on the ground. Then it lifted it's weapon and struck, the silver blade slicing straight over Meg's back. Her cries of pain hurt Dwight's ears. Another strike on the back, this time leaving Meg silent. Dwight wanted to turn away but he couldn't move, it was like he was frozen in place. He heard Claudette whimper besides him, felt her clutch to his arm in fear. In an almost slow motion pace, he saw the monster wiping it's blade on it's clothes to prepare it for another attack.

"Dwight!" he could hear Jake scream. "Do it, now!"

Dwight's terrified gaze met Jake's, and as Dwight looked down on what Jake held in his hands he finally understood the plan.

"Dwight, trust me!" Jake shouted as the monster now turned towards him again, ready to charge.

Dwight didn't have time to think, no time to cower. He couldn't let the monster get Jake, he wouldn't let it. He cast a glance over at Claudette, who was still by his side, and nodded towards her. She returned the nod, her eyes mirroring his own dread. They jumped towards the monster, Dwight claiming the legs as Claudette jumped on the back of the beast. At first the monster didn't seem to be affected by their move, but as Dwight buried his teeth into it's leg he could hear a growl of pain coming from the mask. It fell to one knee, and suddenly Claudette could be heard screaming. Dwight didn't see what happened, he was still holding onto the legs for dear life, not letting the beast get up from the ground. Suddenly a weight came crushing down on them, and a loud snap echoed in the night. Dwight let go of the legs and scurried away from the beast as fast as he could, recognizing the fatal snapping sound as one from it's bear traps. But it didn't chase them, it didn't move at all in fact. A silence fell over the area as the survivors stood around the twitching body of the monster, watching as it hurled itself in an useless attempt to free it's head from the hungry jaws of the trap. The metal teeth dug into its skull, causing thick, dark blood to flow and stain the grass underneath. Dwight didn't want to watch this, his stomach protested heavily, yet he found himself once again incapable of turning away from the sight. A sudden, gurgling sound bellowed from the monster's wide open grin, as it finally stopped struggling and its body went limp. A few moments of silence passed by, somewhere in the distance a lonesome crow called out.

"Claud!"

Jake hurried to catch Claudette as she collapsed on the ground, coughing and gurgling in a painful manner. Dwight watched in shock as she held her waist and put the other hand in front of her mouth to try and control her coughing, only to retract the hand and stare at the blood covering her palm.

"Shit..." Jake breathed out with a shaky voice. "J-Just try and stay calm, Claudette, we'll get you patched up."

Dwight met his gaze and they both looked away quickly, not wanting to stare at each other long enough to confirm the fact they both already knew. Claudette's lung was pierced, she must have accidentally jumped on one of the monster's hooks sticking out of its back while she ambushed it. She wouldn't last long. Just as Dwight was about to try and lift her up with the help of Jake, a roaring scream echoed in the far distance, causing them all to freeze in their tracks.

"I-It can't be..." Jake whispered as his eyes widened in terror.

It was the unmistakable roar from a hungry chainsaw, heading their way. The second monster was coming.

"Come on!" Dwight pressed as they took a firm grip around Claudette's arms and lifted her up, but she fought against them.

"No!" she coughed, not allowing them to pull her onto her legs. "G-Go! Get out of here!"

"Claudette-"

"Go!"

The roaring approached, quickly. Jake met Dwight's gaze, and Dwight had wished he hadn't been the one to let go of Claudette first. But he was. 

"Come on", he said as he grabbed Jake's hand.

Jake gazed at him in disbelief, making his heart almost break, but he didn't protest as they started walking away from Claudette. 

"F-Faster, you idiots!" they could hear her cough, and Dwight almost let a small smile slip on his lips.

That was the first time he'd ever heard the shy woman insult them. He wished it was during other circumstances. He resisted the urge to look behind him as they sped up their pace, running towards the cornfield once again. The roar from the chainsaw let them know the monster had definitely found Claudette, helpless on the ground, and Dwight swallowed hard as her screams rang in their ears.

"Come on, don't stop!" Jake ordered, forcing him to keep running.

"M-Maybe we can go back and-"

"No, we can't!" Jake shouted, pulling on his hand to speed up his pace. "She's dead, Dwight, we have to make it out of here!"

Make it out? Why would they make it out? All the monsters seemed to be on the hunt now, they had no chance in hell. A voice called out in Dwight's head, urging him to give up now and spare himself and Jake the torture of getting caught. 'It's over, you're doomed.' But he forced it away. Somewhere in his dizzy mind he could feel the warmth and strength from Jake's hand holding his and it made him keep going. They ran, and ran, not slowing down for a second. By the time Dwight's lungs were ready to collapse from the pressure of this cardio, Jake stopped in his tracks and pointed at something ahead of them.

"What the... I-Is that really...?"

Dwight peered towards where Jake was pointing. There, neatly hidden between the trees, was the faint glow from the campfire. But how was that possible? The campfire never revealed itself to them before they had powered the gates that led them out from here. 

"Come on", Jake said, hesitating when he felt Dwight standing still as he tried to move whilst still holding his hand.

"What if it's a trick?" Dwight said, locking eyes with Jake. "How can we be sure it's safe?"

Jake didn't answer at first. Dwight met his gaze, not sure what to make of the brown, dark eyes this time.

"We can't", he finally said, and with a sigh Dwight nodded, somehow prepared for that answer.

They jogged towards the fire, not hearing any more noises from the chainsaw but not slowing down in pace. It felt like the woods screamed at them, the crows flew over their heads and taunted them. Even the air felt more dense, as if it tried to suffocate them. This whole world wanted them dead right now, but they kept going. They kept their eyes locked on the campfire, hoping the flames were going to welcome them and keep them safe.


	9. Kiss of Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It all comes to a close.

As the two men collapsed on a log at the campfire, all the noises Dwight had heard in his head and around him seemed to stop. The anger from the woods seemed to fade, and even the wind calmed down. Dwight's lungs were burning from the run, and now that they'd stopped he took big, greedy breaths to get as much air back into them as possible. His heart was still racing in his chest.

"You okay?" Jake asked and laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Y-Yeah", Dwight panted. "You d-don't think it can get to us here?"

Jake looked behind them into the woods and was quiet for a few moments before answering.

"I don't know. We're just gonna have to be on our guard, I guess."

They settled in a bit on their log, Dwight leaning against Jake while still catching his breath and Jake removing his gloves to hold Dwight's hands. As Dwight's heart pace was settling down again and he could think better, he started thinking about Meg and Claudette. He wondered if they would come running here anytime soon, but somehow he knew with certainty the wouldn't. They'd watched each other die plenty of times before, but it had never felt quite like this. Dwight could feel Jake moving a bit beside him, as if he was casting glances over to their side from time to time.

"I don't think they're coming back this time", he heard himself say, staring into the campfire.

He hadn't wanted to say it out loud. Saying it made it real. He thought he heard Jake let out the smallest sigh, but he could have imagined it. He wanted to say something more, he wanted to say something about them, but he couldn't manage. Perhaps it was best that way. To get his mind off of Claudette and Meg, Dwight nudged Jake slightly and said:

"Hey, smart move over there, taking the monster's bear trap and using it against it."

He heard Jake scoff slightly.

"Thanks, although I didn't use it, you guys did. You made it fall into it. Speaking of..." he turned his head towards Dwight. "Did you really bite down into it's leg or was I seeing things?"

Dwight couldn't help but chuckle slightly at Jake's amused look.

"I d-did bite down, yeah", he said, cringing at the memory. "It tasted so bad, like rotten fish!"

Jake made a grossed out expression, then laughed. Dwight joined in, and for a slight moment a little happiness managed to seep through his troubled thoughts.

"That's really taking one for the team", Jake said, and Dwight laughed again.

"Guess it is."

They cuddled closer together, Jake playing with Dwight's bracelets.

"Somehow I feel even colder than usual..." the woodsman suddenly said, and Dwight nodded with a slight shiver.

"Me too. This is a lousy campfire."

Jake huffed in amusement, then suddenly straightened up where he sat and started removing his jacket.

"Here", he said and swept it around Dwight's shoulders.

"Oh, y-you don't have to-" Dwight started, but was interrupted by a quick kiss to his lips.

"But I want to", Jake said and Dwight knew there was no fighting against him, so he gratefully put on the jacket and closed it.

"Thanks."

Jake's body heat still trapped inside the jacket managed to warm him a bit, and before he knew it he almost felt relaxed. If he closed his eyes and listened to the sound of the fire, felt Jake's warm body beside him on the log, it was again almost like being on a normal hiking trip. He could almost fool himself, pretend for even just a split moment, that things were going to be okay. They were here, together, just resting in the cold autumn evening. Just resting...

"Hey, don't fall asleep."

Dwight took a sharp breath and opened his eyes in a flash.

"S-Sorry..." he mumbled and cuddled in closer to Jake, who kissed him on the head.

"I just don't want to be alone", Jake said. "If you fall asleep, I... I won't know what's gonna happen."

Dwight nodded, but didn't know exactly what Jake meant. He felt it better not to ask for clarification, it felt like something he didn't want to think about. He didn't want to know what was going to happen to them now, he didn't want to fear being alone, without Jake. How long had they sat here? Hours, days even? Dwight wasn't sure, time seemed to not be a thing anymore, not that it had ever been here. The campfire cackled along as it always had done, or was it louder? Again, Dwight wasn't sure. He was feeling very tired, like all the stress and pain from earlier finally caught up with him. He just wanted to sleep, let himself drift away from here and finally be at rest. When Jake spoke again, it made his mind a bit clearer and he avoided nodding into the slumber again.

"Back home..." the woodsman said, "I would have asked you on a proper date."

Dwight looked at him and blinked, unsure if he had heard right.

"It would have been a good one, trust me. I'd think of something fun", Jake said, meeting his gaze with a determined look.

Dwight felt the smile spread on his lips, and he leaned in to kiss Jake before settling in next to him, head on his shoulder.

"I do like the sound of that", he said, his gaze trailing off into the warm flames of the campfire once again. "I would have said yes, hoping there'd be more dates."

"Oh, there would have been", Jake said. "Where did you live?"

"Thompson Falls, Montana."

Jake nodded.

"I stayed mostly around the Canadian border, wouldn't have been too much of a trip down to you."

Them talking about all this in past sentence made Dwight feel a bit gloomy. They both knew they wouldn't get to go back home, somehow they knew. They would have to settle for this, and considering everything that had happened here, Dwight was content with this. Sitting here, with Jake.

"In a better world I'd had moved in with you, I've always wanted to visit Canada", he said, feeling Jake hug him tightly as they both stared into the campfire.

"In a better world", Jake repeated.

The coldness of the night wasn't as threatening anymore. The darkness didn't seem so malicious, it was as if something had finally let go of them. They were released from all feelings of anger and pain, and only the deep wish for sleep remained. Dwight wasn't sure if he was dreaming at this point, things had started to fade at the edges in a way that he'd never experienced before. Or maybe he was just falling asleep again, his eyelids felt like they weighed a ton. Jake would have to wake him.

"Dwight, look, the sun", Jake whispered, and as Dwight opened his eyes he saw the golden rays behind the treetops.

Dawn. They hadn't seen the sun in weeks, maybe months, and Dwight didn't care if it was an illusion now. It's faint rays were not warming, but he didn't need them to be. They tore through the darkness, loosening the grip of the malicious force holding them prisoners. They reminded him of home, of what could have been so much better, and with a content sigh he closed his eyes shut again. The two men fell asleep, holding each other, as the campfire slowly died in front of them and the forest was lit up by the morning sun.

\-----

Epilogue

BODY OF MISSING WOMAN FOUND, BRIGHTON

Late Sunday afternoon, the body of a young woman was found just outside of Brighton. Police have come out with a press statement, saying that the body has been identified as 23 year old Meg Thomas, who was reported missing about two months ago. Thomas had last been seen while going for a run in the woods near Brighton campus. The cause of death is still unsure, but police say they have found signs of struggle on Thomas' body and are now looking for any tips locals may have that can lead them to a potential capture.

MISSING WOMAN FOUND IN ONTARIO

Police received a call late Monday evening about a body found just between the border of Ontario and Quebec. After further investigation, the body was identified as 25 year old Claudette Morel. Morel was reported missing last month, and search parties have scouted the areas frequently. It was during one of these search parties, that Morel was found. Police have released a press statement, saying Morel's body showed signs of trauma and struggle. They are now accepting any tips locals might have that might aid them in their search for a potential assaulter.

BODIES DISCOVERED IN THE WOODS OF REGINA

A local of Regina called in to the police early Friday morning, reporting having found two bodies while out on a morning walk with their dog. As police arrived on the scene, they found the bodies of two young men, and the cause of death could early on be established as hypothermia. The first male have been identified as 25 year old Dwight Fairfield of Montana, US while the second male was identified as 26 year old Jake Park of Quebec. Park had been reported missing last month, and Fairfield had been missing since two months. Police have yet not determined if the two men were connected in any way, or what they were doing out in the woods without any camping equipment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are, huh? Last chapter, can't believe it :O I'm sorry the gang didn't get a happy ending, 'tis not in my blood to finish a story in a super happy manner sadly.   
(Also, I just quickly googled some random places in the UK, US and Canada to determine where everyone hailed from, don't read too much into it lmao!)
> 
> ...However! I did feel a bit bad leaving y'all at this, soooo I've decided to drop a quick alternate ending/chapter 10 also, mueheh!


	10. Alternate Ending

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *wakes up* Oh boy, it was all a dream! :D

Dwight awoke by the sound of his own worried grunts and moans. He opened his eyes and was met by a bright lit room, the morning sun shining in through the windows to greet him. Wiping his eyes to dry the tears from the nightmare, he reached over to his night stand to grab his glasses. As he put them on he let out a sigh of relief. He was at home, in his bedroom. Safe. He relaxed into the soft, warm bed, letting out a big yawn. The warm light that filled the room made him almost fall asleep again, but a movement to his right had him look over at the man laying next to him. Jake was still sound asleep, his breathing calm and deep and his eyelashes fluttering a bit now and then. Dwight laid on his side so he could marvel over how beautiful his fiance was. He hoped Jake didn't have as terrible dreams as he'd had. A thick strand of hair had found it's way to the sleeping man's nose, and Dwight was thinking of carefully removing it with his hand. Before he could do this, however, Jake opened his eyes and wrinkled his nose at the feeling of the hair on it. Dwight couldn't help but chuckle at Jake's face, and the other man smiled at him and wiped away the hair from his nose.

"Good morning, beautiful", Dwight smiled, and Jake leaned in to give him a warm kiss.

"Good morning, love", he hummed, then let out a cat-like yawn that made Dwight chuckle again. 

"What time is it?" Jake asked, blinking a few times in an attempt to get the sleepiness out of his eyes.

"Don't know, probably pretty early still", Dwight guessed. 

He met Jake's gaze, and as the other man could always read him like an open book, he asked:

"What's wrong?"

Dwight sighed and curled up a bit more in his warm covers.

"Bad dream", was all he said, but he didn't need to say anything more.

"Come here", Jake said and reached out his arm to welcome Dwight into a warm embrace.

They hugged for a while, Dwight breathing in the heavenly scent of newly awake Jake. He tried not to think of the horrible nightmare, and only focus on here and now. He was with Jake, and he was safe.

As Jake released Dwight from the tight hug, he kissed him again and said:

"When do you start?"

Dwight responded by snuggling closer to the other man, resting his head on his arm.

"Don't know, but I want to stay here for a little while longer", he mumbled.

Jake held him close again, and Dwight shut his eyes as he relaxed into the embrace.

"I love you", he whispered into Jake's neck.

"I love you, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A quick one, as promised! Let this be your alternate ending if you didn't like the other one ;) 
> 
> I want to thank you all so much for all the support throughout this story, it's been amazing! <3 This has been my first ever fan fic, and if you've seen my other works you've seen that I've taken quite a liking to it. I couldn't have imagined a better way to start off my fan fiction writing, and I couldn't have asked for better readers! Love you all, stay safe in the fog! <3 ;*


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